Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
by jespah
Summary: During the Xindi War, the Enterprise was thrown back in time, to 2037. In 2154, the second iteration Enterprise met its original counterpart, which had become a generational ship. But just what happened between 2037 and 2154? And which parts of it happened twice? E2 timeline. WARNING: Homophobic characters, character deaths.
1. Charlotte

During the Xindi War, the _Enterprise_ was thrown back in time, to 2037.

In 2154, the second iteration _Enterprise_ met its original counterpart, which had become a generational ship.

But just what happened between 2037 and 2154?

And which parts of it happened _twice_?

_Star Trek  
>ENTERPRISE<em>

_Everybody Knows this is Nowhere_

A Star Trek Fan Fiction By  
>J. R. GERSHEN-SIEGEL<p>

**P  
>G-13- Parents Strongly Cautioned<strong>

Some material may be not be appropriate

for children under 13

**This is a fan written work**

The copyrights & trademarks of Star Trek are owned by  
>Paramount Pictures, CBS Corporation and their licensee, Pocket Books. Any attempt to sell or rent this book should be reported to the copyright owners for their action<p>_TrekUnited Publishing_

To visit jespah online go to

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>to find more great Star Trek fan fiction<br>join us on the TrekUnited forum at  
>.com<p>

First pdf online edition MM/DD/2012

Published for TrekUnited by  
>L'Stok Press<br>. .LStok

Chapter 1 – Charlotte

A young woman looked out a starship window as the familiar sights of a known system slipped away from view. A nearby display showed the date – _January fourteenth of 2154_.

She smiled, patting a swollen belly as her husband slipped his arms around her. He gazed at her, his face a mass of inconsistent characteristics, as was hers.

They both had notched noses, but only her ears had small points. They also had ridges around their eyes, although his were more pronounced than hers. He was also darker than her, with skin tones close to a dusky taupe whereas her skin was an almost translucent alabaster. His eyes were dark, too, a mahogany brown, while hers were an impossibly light crystal blue. They kissed.

"You know," he told her, "I really should be getting back. We've got to make it to this rendezvous on time."

"Of course," she replied, "just think! We'll meet our forebears! It's very exciting. You'll be in Sick Bay, on alert. And of course I'll run communications."

"Right," he agreed, "and Cousin Amanda will be at Tactical, and Great-Aunt T'Les at the Science station as always, and Great-Uncle Charlie in command."

"Don't forget Cousin Stuart in Sick Bay – he's so serious! Or there's your Aunt Yoshiko in Engineering."

"Yes," he confirmed, "but don't overdo it today, Charlotte."

"I won't, Andrew. I'll be right there. I just want to write a little letter to, to them."

"See you after shift." They kissed again and Andrew departed for Sick Bay.

"Let's see," Charlotte mused, "how to begin? Ahem.

_Dear family_."

She took a breath. "_My name is Charlotte Mary-Jane Reed-Hayes Archer. How odd this must seem to you! But we have been waiting for this our whole lives. I must remember, you're not in the same place as we are. But we are family just the same_."

She paused. "_It will probably be easier if I just lay out my family tree. But a tree implies something growing straight and tall, whereas my and my husband's – they meander and cross several times. So it's more like a family bramble, I guess, a tangle of a sort_."

She rubbed her own back a little, as her center of gravity was shifting. "_Okay, now, you are going to be confused, I bet. I know I am sometimes! So I'll start with your end of things. There were a total of one hundred and seven children born to the first generation. That is, to you guys. I know how weird that sounds. I bet most of you aren't even dating yet. Hell, according to the old logs, we know that most of you don't even realize that you like each other_."

That thought made her chuckle. "_We only care about a few of these people, at least when it comes to me and mine. We'll call this Generation 2.1, because you are the real Generation 1.0, okay? You are my great-great-grandparents. And Generation 2.1, those are my great-grandparents. Er, they're your kids. See how confusing it is already? On my father's side, it goes as follows – first of his great-greats is Major Jay Hayes, who married Lili O'Day, the sous-chef. Well, I don't need to tell you your ranks and roles, of course. They had two kids together – one was Jeremiah, who was called Joss. Their daughter was Madeline. Joss married Kim Sloane-Chang, the daughter of Sandra Sloane and Daniel Chang. Joss and Kim had three kids of their own – Pete, Marie and Stacey. Those are all Generation 2.2, if you're keeping track_."

She took a breath. "_Generation 2.2 wasn't quite as big, as there were definite space issues. So there were – er, are, sixty-three of them. Pete married Amanda Phlox. She's one of the grandchildren of Doctor Phlox and Amanda Cole_."

A pause. "_Then there's Generation 2.3. Again, it's a smaller generation. A part of that was due to space constraints, but it was also due to concerns about too much interbreeding. After all, we were already pretty intimately connected with each other. It could be difficult to find an unrelated or more or less unrelated spouse. My parents are in this generation. My Dad is named Malcolm Logan Reed-Hayes_."

She looked out the window a little before continuing. "_Now let's talk about my mother's side. Mom is also descended from Lili O'Day, but because of Lili's relationship with Malcolm Reed. That's where the Reed part of Reed-Hayes comes from. Their daughter was Pamela. She married Nick Ryan, who was the son of Meredith Porter and Rex Ryan. Pam and Nick's son was Jay Malcolm O'Day Ryan. Isn't that a mouthful? He married Daphne Tucker – she was a granddaughter of Ethan Shapiro and an Ikaaran woman named Bithara, and of Commanders Charles Tucker III and T'Pol, who is still alive. I don't go to see my great-great-granny as often as I should. She still lives on B deck_."

She smiled to herself. "_Generation 2.3 is my mother, T'Mir Ryan. Now for my husband, Andrew Archer._"

She coughed a little. "_First generation on his father's side is Andrew Miller and Shelby Pike. They had a son named Scott. Then there's Mara Brodsky and Walter Woods – they had a daughter named Tanya. Tanya married Scotty and their daughter was Lucinda. She's in Generation 2.2. Are you with me so far_?"

Another pause. "_Also in the first generation are Jonathan Archer and an Ikaaran woman named Ebrona, plus, again, Jay Hayes and Lili O'Day. This time it's their daughter, Madeline. Madeline marries Jon and Ebrona's son, Henry. They had two kids, Aaron and Sally. Aaron was Aaron Gregory, actually – he was called AG, after an old friend of Jonathan Archer's. Aaron married Lucinda and their son was Doug. Doug is my father-in-law, okay_?"

She patted her belly. _"Then on Andrew's mother's side, the first generations are, first, Azar Hamidi and Maryam Haroun. The other couple is Ramih Azar and Nan Myers. Azar and Maryam had a son named Ali. Ramih and Nan's daughter was named Fatima. Ali and Fatima married. Their son was Mahmout. Then there's Tracey Carter and Oscar Tiburón in the first generation and, again, Doctor Phlox and Amanda Cole. See, Phlox and Cole had nine kids! So there's a lot of repetition there. Anyway, Tracey and Oscar had two kids – Amanda who was called Almendra – that means almond in Spanish – and Carlos. Carlos married Michelle Phlox. Their daughter was Ines Tiburón. Finally, Ines and Mahmout had a daughter, Laila. She's my mother-in-law_."

She smiled again. "_I realize this is crazy confusing, but I wanted you to know who I am. And I wanted to give you a fighting chance of understanding my son, and what he's going to look like. See, my notched nose comes from Bithara. The points on my ears come from Daphne and T'Mir and back to T'Pol. The ridges around my eyes come from Amanda Phlox. And the same is almost all true of Andrew. He gets a notched nose from Ebrona, and eye ridges from Michelle. He got to skip the pointed ears. But when our son is born, I bet he'll marry someone who's part-Vulcan. That is, if we can be released from here. See, we are meeting you today, and it's because we really want to meet you, and work with you in order to defeat the Xindi. But it's also because, in a lot of ways, this is a generational prison. And we want – we need – to be let out. We're running out of genetic diversity and it's all about to collapse on itself_."

=/\=

On the Bridge of the _Enterprise_, Charlotte quickly got into her seat at Communications. She smiled up at the person she was relieving – a cousin by marriage, Aidan Khan. He asked, "so, how's the little stinker doin'?"

"He's not thrashing around as much as he used to, thank God. He'll be a MACO, I bet. Won't ya, Joss?" she asked her own belly.

"I thought you were naming him Jay."

"We are. I just figure we'll call him Joss, like Great-granddaddy."

"Cool. Gotta go. Hi to Andy, okay?"

"Sure thing." She smiled at him as she wiped off the earpiece and then placed and adjusted it.

"Are we getting anything yet?" asked the captain, a human-Vulcan hybrid named Charles Tucker IV.

"Not yet, Charlie," she answered. She adjusted a few things. "Hang on. I think the static is getting more isolated and less randomized."

"Does that actually mean anything in English?" asked a part-Vulcan fellow at the Tactical station.

"Very funny, Steve," she replied.

An eyebrow was raised at the Science station, where T'Mir was serving. "Children, really. Steven, I've half a mind to call your mother in Engineering."

The pilot, who was mostly Ikaaran and had rather pronounced ridges on his nose, looked up. "I can see them," he reported.

"Good going, Mister Creighton," praised Captain Tucker. "Let's get it on screen and magnified, Charlotte."

"Right away." She fiddled with controls and the image was magnified and made clearer. "Wow. It's the _NX-01_! It's probably the way she's _really_ supposed to look, eh?"

=/\=

On the cleaner, brighter version of the _NX-01_, Hoshi Sato was listening to the static. "Hey, wait a second. It's not randomized."

"I beg your pardon?" asked Captain Jonathan Archer.

"The static, sir," she adjusted her earpiece – the same piece that Charlotte Reed-Hayes Archer was listening with, "it's got a pattern to it. It's like somebody is out there, but they're hiding a bit."

"Malcolm, check on long-range scanners," Jonathan commanded.

"Right away, sir," replied the Tactical officer. He punched keys on the same console being used, not that far away, by Steven Khan, a descendant of Hoshi's, but also of T'Pol and Tripp.

T'Pol looked up from the Science station, not knowing that her great-granddaughter was peering into the exact same scope. "Long-range sensors are showing inconclusive data. It is almost as if it were a reflection of our own readings."

"Captain, I can see something," reported Travis Mayweather from the pilot's chair, unaware that his counterpart, who was distantly related to him, had said nearly the same thing.

"On screen and magnified," said Jonathan, giving nearly the same command as his successor, the son of the Chief Engineer and the Science Officer.

"The configuration, sir," opined Malcolm, "I think it's almost Starfleet in design."

Hoshi hit some more switches and the image was magnified some more. Her jaw dropped. "_Sir_!"

"Yes, I see it, Ensign," replied the Captain, "Take us in closer, Travis."

=/\=

The two ships stopped, not one thousand meters from each other. The captain decided, "Well, uh, I guess we should open a channel, Hoshi."

"Go ahead."

"This is Captain Jonathan Archer of the starship _Enterprise_. But, uh, you might know that already. What we're trying to figure out is – who are _you_?"

Charlie Tucker nodded to Charlotte. She adjusted a few things and their image was sent to the other _NX-01_. He spoke. "Captain Archer, my name is Charles Tucker IV. I know you're not going to believe this. So I'm going to ask my Communications Officer to send you a few things. Charlotte?"

"Captain," she said, "there are some things that we know about you. That you would only know if, well, if we _really_ knew you. I'm going to send a note to everyone about that, all right? It's just a little note."

"Captain Archer," said Charlie, "today is the day that, so far as we are concerned, a starship called _Enterprise_ was kicked back in time. It was due to a Kovaalan particle wake. One minute, it was today – January fourteenth of 2154. And then it was 2037. It was April the eighth, to be perfectly precise."

"What?" asked Archer.

"Captain," Charlie continued, "we didn't make this. And neither did you. Or, rather, the other version of you. But it happened all the same. We did not think you would believe us. So we put together the notes that Charlotte has just sent you. Please, please, just open them and read them. And you will see that we are sincere."

Jonathan glanced around. "Well?" he asked Hoshi.

"We have messages for everyone," she reported, "They're virus-free."

"Okay," the captain suggested, "let's read them." He motioned for her to cut the sound.

=/\=

_Dear Jonathan Archer,_

_You love strawberry shortcake._

=/\=

_Dear Jay Hayes,_

_You have a lucky nickel, minted in 2012._

=/\=

_Dear Malcolm Reed,_

_You have lactose intolerance, and you don't want anyone to know._

=/\=

_Dear Maryam Haroun,_

_You've been kissed twice._

=/\=

_Dear T'Pol,_

_You hate peanuts._

=/\=

_Dear Rex Ryan,_

_You can play the guitar._

=/\=

_Dear Travis Mayweather,_

_Whenever your mother flies the Horizon, if you're not on a deadline, she flies really slowly._

=/\=

_Dear Hoshi Sato,_

_If you ever had kids, you would want to name them Toru and Yoshiko._

=/\=

_Dear Doctor Phlox,_

_It is not in your traditions for you to choose your children's spouses._

=/\=

_Dear Ethan Shapiro,_

_You secretly like Karin Bernstein._

=/\=

_Dear Craig Willets,_

_You're tired of Engineering and would really prefer to just be working with computers again._

=/\=

_Dear Daniel Chang,_

_You wouldn't kick Deborah Haddon out of bed._

=/\=

_Dear Meredith Porter,_

_You can sing._

=/\=

_Dear Lili O'Day,_

_You like Major Hayes and Lieutenant Reed._

=/\=

_Dear Jennifer Crossman,_

_You have a twin sister named Claire._

=/\=

Perhaps a minute later, they had all read their messages. Everyone looked up from their PADDs. "They know us, sir," Malcolm finally ventured.

"It's intimate information," reported Hoshi, "I've never told anyone what I just read on my PADD."

Jonathan nodded. "It's not even the biggest secret I've got. It's just something I don't make public. But the message is correct." He looked around at all of them. "Let's have a meeting. Right now. Get the rest of the senior staff up here – Slocum, Hayes, Pike, Tucker and Phlox."

"Right away, Captain."

"Oh, and let's put the other ship off. Close the connection but tell them, uh, we'll contact them in an hour."

"Yes, sir."

=/\=

Doctor Phlox hastily put Andrew Miller from the Bio Lab in charge of Sick Bay. "But I'm not a doctor," the crewman had protested. Phlox had just told him to do his best and to call if there was a real emergency.

As for Tucker, he commandeered Crewman José Torres to monitor the containment field. Jay Hayes asked Private Daniel Chang – the guy had been recently busted from Corporal for insubordination – to take charge of things while he was in the meeting. It seemed like a good idea, to give the man a chance to redeem himself a bit.

Will Slocum, the chef, had his assistant, the sous-chef, Lili O'Day, begin lunch. She called in a favor and contacted Navigational Crewman Preston Jennings to help. He had been a steward before the outbreak of the Xindi war and so he could perform basic tasks although he was nowhere near as skilled in Food Service as she was. But it was something, for otherwise it was too much for one person to cook, clean and serve, in addition to handling the Captain's Mess.

As for Shelby Pike, there was nothing for her to do. She was the Botanist, and the plants were fine. She set the lights on their usual timer and left without a concern; although she did wonder a little bit about the note that was sent to her, how the note writer could have possibly known that she had been a ballerina at the San Francisco Ballet before joining Starfleet. A minor player, to be sure, but she had had ambitions of dancing _Coppélia_, and the note had been about her ambition. How could this unknown crew have possibly known _that_?

=/\=

"Well, you all know why you're here," Captain Archer began, without preamble. "We don't know these people at all. But the PADD messages – so far as I can tell, did anyone get a message that didn't make any sense to them, or that was purely public information?"

Everyone shook their heads. "I took the liberty of scanning their hull," Malcolm announced, "and their ship does not just look like our own. It is also composed of the same metallic alloys as our own."

"The warp signatures differ slightly," Tripp Tucker explained, "but that's to be expected, given the story they're tellin', I mean. Consider this – you're out here for over a century. And you don't have access to refined fuels. It makes sense that their ride mighta gotten a little bumpy."

"Sir?" Shelby raised her hand and then lowered it quickly. "Oops, uh, I've never been to one of these meetings before. Sorry."

"That's all right," Archer encouraged, "go ahead."

"I think I believe them. It sounds like a crazy thing, but I like to think that if, well, if we were in the same boat, that they'd believe _us_."

"Look at their Bridge crew," Will gazed at the playback. "Their Communications Officer has the same coloring as my sous-chef. And the captain is a Vulcan, despite his human name, right?"

"The pilot resembles Sophie Creighton a little bit," Travis pointed out. "And their Tactical guy looks like Sekar Khan."

"Their Science Officer is another Vulcan," Hoshi stated, "and she looks a lot like you, T'Pol."

A Vulcan eyebrow was raised. "How would that be possible? Vulcans and humans cannot have offspring. And Denobulans and Vulcans cannot, either. Was a second Vulcan brought aboard, and then his child adopted by Commander Tucker? That does not make logical sense."

"Perhaps I – or someone like me," Phlox speculated, "determined how to line up human and Vulcan chromosomes."

"Actually, that makes more sense to me," Tripp allowed. "Their captain looks a little like my grandpappy, around the eyes in particular."

Now the Vulcan eyebrow shot up even higher. "Commander?"

"All I'm sayin'," Tucker said, "is that it's lookin' mighty possible from here."

"Impressions? Let's go around the room," Captain Archer suggested. "Major?"

"I, uh, well, it's strange but my message was definitely right on target, and it was a very private thing. Nobody would've known that. I vote to believe them."

"Travis?"

"The note was about how fast my mother flies the _Horizon_ when she's in command. It's not completely private, but it's close enough, I guess. Their pilot doesn't just look like Sophie. He also looks a little like my brother, Paul. I wonder if I married Sophie."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," The captain asked, "Chef?"

"The note was about my mother being of Italian descent. It's not something I shout from the rooftops but it's no secret, either. Someone's got to be the opposing viewpoint, so I suppose that someone will be me. I vote that they aren't who they say they are, and it's maybe some weird Xindi ploy."

"All right," the captain asked, "Hoshi?"

"The note was right, as I've said. The Communications Officer did everything I would do, too. Did you notice that she's pregnant? That kinda seals it for me. I mean, if you're gonna be a generational ship, then that seems inevitable."

"T'Pol?"

"The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that time travel is impossible. I suggest that this might be a Xindi ruse, as Chef Slocum has suggested. However, the logic behind it is not yet apparent."

"Fair enough. Shelby?"

"The note was completely on target. Plus why would the Xindi try to get us this way? It makes no sense to me. I mean, if they wanted to, why wouldn't they just blow us out of the sky? Not that I want them to, but making up this kind of a story, mocking up a ship, making up these people, writing the notes – I don't understand it. It's to what end, sir?"

The captain nodded. "Tripp?"

"Like I said, the warp signature makes sense, and their captain has a family resemblance to me. With all that time, yeah, they'd figger all sorts of things out. I go with believing 'em."

"Doctor?"

"There is some ridging around their Communications Officer's eyes, and around the eyes of the Tactical Officer and their pilot as well. If this is true, then I have any number of unknown relatives. On Denobula, this would be a cause for a great celebration."

"But do you believe them?" asked the captain.

"Let's just say I'm cautiously optimistic. I like the _idea_ of them. And their statement was accurate albeit not too terribly personal. But that may be a function of log entries and the like. If they based their notes upon log entries, well, mine are none too intimate. Hence they would have little to go on. Whether that means that they were checking logs in their own records, or they somehow tapped into our own – that part I cannot tell."

"Got it. Malcolm?"

"Sir, the note was certainly intimate enough and so that part works. The fact that much of their crew had a jumble of features also makes some sense to me. After all, such a situation would be an occasion for a great deal of interbreeding, I'll wager. The notching on the noses – where does that come from? To my mind, it makes logical sense that they would have made up the gender imbalance with alien women somehow."

"Okay," the captain allowed. He looked at all of them. "As for me, I guess I'd have to say that the jury's still out."

There was a chime in Hoshi's ear. "Captain, they're hailing us."

"Oh?"

"It's just Charlotte."

"On screen, I guess."

Charlotte peered at them. "We have a big database filled with all sorts of information. Not only about who we are but also about what we've been up to. We've been able to replicate all sorts of things. We farm on two planets in the Expanse. We occasionally meet and trade with Xyrillians, and we avoid a species we know you've never heard of – the Imvari. I would like to start sending you our database, if that's okay."

"Stand by," Hoshi replied. She cut the sound. "Well?"

"I, uh, I don't know," Jonathan admitted.

There was another small chime and Hoshi saw a note. She opened it, a note from Charlotte. She read it aloud.

"_Dear Hoshi,_

_I hope you don't mind the over familiarity. We don't call each other by rank or surname here. But that's because we're mostly all related to each other here. I bet you're skeptical so here's a list of your last ten passwords, and what I'm pretty sure is your current one_."

Hoshi paused, scanning the list. "These are all correct. And I don't write them down anywhere until I'm done with them. She got the current one, right on the nose."

"Let's get that database," the captain commanded, and then added, "Open the channel back up."

"Go ahead."

"Charlotte," he said, "tell your captain, we'd like to invite your Bridge crew over. To, uh, to lunch."

"Oh that's wonderful!" she enthused. "Thanks, Great-great-granddaddy!"

=/\=

Lunch was held in the Observation Lounge. It was a strange affair. Charlie came in with T'Mir, Steven, Leo Creighton, Yoshiko Tucker Khan, Doctor Stuart Mayweather and Charlotte.

Charlotte explained her family tree as they all listened. Then Lili came in with the entrée and almost dropped it. Charlotte got up as quickly as her bulk would allow. "Great-great-Grammy!" she called out, hugging a very surprised Lili.

"Huh," Lili finally stammered, "how? Who?"

"I'm a Reed-Hayes," Charlotte explained, "I'm related to both your husband and your lover."

"My _whats_?"

And so it went, as impromptu family gatherings went on throughout the day and the database was shifted over as quickly as possible. People were related in all sorts of ways, and people learned who they had married. That was a cause for more than one awkward moment, particularly when Mara Brodsky learned she'd been married first to Robert Slater and then to Walter Woods.

=/\=

It was all going well, and the database had been thoroughly transferred, when there was an alarm on the Bridge.

The second shift was there. It was Tactical Ensign Aidan MacKenzie, Science Crewman Ethan Novakovich, Communications Crewman Sandra Sloane – she had been taken off Communications but was pressed into service – pilot Chris Harris and, in command, T'Pol, who was still making sense of it all. In particular, it was when she was told that an older version of herself was on the older _NX-01_. The thought of that was unsettling.

There was a hail from the other _NX-01_. Their backup communications officer had pointed ears as well. "Foremother," she stated, "I am Daphne Tucker. We are sensing an Imvari ship."

"On screen," T'Pol commanded Sandra, who fiddled with the controls in order to fulfill her request. Inwardly, she was in turmoil. It seemed absurd to be addressed as _foremother_ by someone who appeared to be older than her.

There was, indeed, a ship. It was not unlike a mechanical version of an octopus, or at least it seemed a bit like that. There was a central core and there were arms which looked as if they could swing out. The arms each held a smaller ship, which was perhaps a shuttle or even a large escape pod or the like.

"Hail them," T'Pol commanded Sandra.

"It won't do any good, Foremother," explained Daphne, "They are only looking for one thing, to enslave all of us."

"Enslave?" asked T'Pol.

"They work for the Orion Syndicate. They patrol this area, picking up people for labor. We lost two that way, many years ago."

"They're charging weapons!" yelled Aidan.

"Get ready, Mister MacKenzie!" T'Pol called back. "Crewman Sloane, get the captain!"

Sandra patched her through as the ship was hit. "Return fire!" yelled T'Pol.

"What's going on?" yelled Jonathan.

"Captain!" That was all that T'Pol could yell before they were hit again.

Archer looked at his guests. "I don't know what to tell you."

"We'll get back to our ship," offered Charlie. "You first, Charlotte."

"Take them to the transporter," Jonathan commanded Tripp.

They raced over as quickly as Charlotte could go. Tripp opened his communicator. "Torres, you need to man the transporter. I better get back and take your place."

"Got it," acknowledged José.

=/\=

On the Bridge, Jonathan acted quickly. "Take out their weapons," he commanded as Malcolm ran in and relieved Aidan at Tactical.

"Yes, sir," Malcolm fired a torpedo spread. One of the arms of the Imvari ship was torn clean off. That ship flew out of there as quickly as it could.

"Can you estimate their speed?" Captain Archer asked Travis.

"Warp four, I think, sir."

"Huh. We might be faster than they are."

=/\=

With the battle over, the visitors who had not beamed over collected their shuttle and departed. Charlie stood as the captain and T'Pol saw them off. "Mother," he said to T'Pol, "I know you're skeptical, still. I don't blame you. But even if you don't believe me, I still want you to know that I love you."

"I, I do not know what to say," replied the full-blooded Vulcan.

He departed and they watched the shuttle leave. "I wonder what we do now," Archer admitted.

=/\=

Once the shuttle had returned to the older _NX-01_, Charlie got back into the Captain's chair. "I wish there was a way we could be guaranteed that they would believe us." He sighed.

"They're smart people," Steven said, "so they're bound to not just believe everything, hook, line and sinker. At least, not without questioning everything."

"Great-great-Grammy Lili, I know that she believed me," Charlotte said. "I'm glad we got a chance to take a few pictures. I'll send over copies to them." She flipped a few switches in order to do so.

"I've got Imvari warp signatures on long-range scanners again," warned Steven.

T'Mir peered into a scope at the Science station. "There is another set of readings. I believe they are Kovaalan."

"Target the Kovaalans, Steve!" Charlie yelled. "Let's get them out of the way."

=/\=

"I've got that ship back on sensors!" Malcolm called out.

"There is another ship," T'Pol peered into the scope at the Science station. She and the captain had just returned to the Bridge. "It appears to be Kovaalan."

"On screen," Archer commanded.

Hoshi got the image onto the main viewer, just in time for them to see the other _NX-01_ hitting the Kovaalan ship with a full spread of torpedoes. "What the hell?" Jonathan asked, incredulous.

The Imvari ship dropped out of warp and began firing onto the other _NX-01_. "Fire on the Imvari ship!" Captain Archer commanded.

Malcolm got a shot off with phase cannons and then, suddenly, they were hit with a particle wake from the Kovaalan ship.

=/\=

The stars blinked and blurred and the crew was knocked out. After several minutes, T'Pol shook herself awake. Alarmed, she saw the remainder of the Bridge crew collapsed, either at their stations or on the floor. She called out; a little scared, despite her normal Vulcan disciplines, "Can anyone hear me?"

The crew came to, slowly, shaking their heads. Travis got back up to a sitting position. "Did somebody move the stars?" he asked.

"What?" asked Captain Archer.

"The, the stars, sir. They're, uh, they're all wrong."

"What?" repeated the captain.

"They've moved, sir."

"_Moved_? How is this possible?" Jonathan asked T'Pol.

"Either we have moved, or the stars have," she replied.

"And the stars would only move if time had passed," Travis stated.

"Or was rewound," Hoshi added.

=/\=

In 2154, Charlie yelled, "What the hell just happened?"

T'Mir looked back at him, "Forefather, they, I think they have gone back to, to where we were."

There was an explosion. The Imvari were still out there, and were still deadly. "I thought they were taken care of!" exclaimed the captain.

"Whatever the other _NX-01_ did, it wasn't enough!" said Steven. "Targeting their weapons."

There was a direct hit, but it did little good. They were hit again, and again. "I'm getting reports of plasma leaks," Charlotte said, alarmed. She listened some more. "Oh my God! They're saying, oh God, oh God, E deck is hit."

"How bad is it?" asked Charlie.

"I can't reach anyone there. I can't get Sick Bay." She was in tears. "_Andrew_," she cried, knowing he was probably dead, along with Stuart and everyone else on that deck.

There was another hit. "Hit them with everything!" yelled Charlie.

Steven worked the controls, firing whatever he had at the Imvari ship. They had learned to target the arms, and he did, but it was not enough. Something had been adapted, and the Imvari ship was still able to hit them, and it did so.

Shaking, Charlotte listened in. "D deck is, is gone."

"Hull plating is gone," reported Steven.

"Do we have engines?" Charlie asked Leo Creighton.

"No warp drive and no impulse power," he said, "we're sitting ducks."

T'Mir looked up. "So Cousin Yoshiko is gone, too."

Another hit. "B deck," Charlotte said. T'Mir came over and just hugged her. "Mom, I'm scared."

"We all are," her mother replied.

There was a communications hail. It was the Imvari. "Prepare to be boarded." That was the only message.

Charlie had her cut the sound. "Do we at least have maneuvering thrusters, Leo?"

"I think so," he replied.

"Well, I don't know about any of you, but I won't be taken alive," Charlie was defiant.

Charlotte looked up. "I won't let them make my baby a slave." A bit of static came from her station. She turned it off as it was distracting.

They all got up, everyone except for Leo, and stood behind him. They all held hands. There was Charlie, who was Charlotte's great-grandfather. There was T'Mir, her mother. There was Steven, who was related to Yoshiko and Andrew. And there was Leo, related to all of them through the Ikaaran bloodlines.

"Ramming speed, as well as you can make it, Mister Creighton," Charlie commanded. He paused and looked at them all. "You are not only a fine crew; you are some of the many people I love."

Together, as the ship broke apart, the last words on all of their lips were the same – _I love you_.

The Imvari ship was finally, hopelessly, crippled, and it exploded, shards raining down on a planet that the crew of the older _NX-01_ had named _Paradise_.

=/\=

And on the newer _NX-01_, they all looked around, shaking, wondering what had happened and if history was, somehow, repeating itself.

=/\=

_Charlotte Mary-Jane Reed-Hayes Archer's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154_

_Just a quick note. We met them! Oh! I love them already – particularly Lili. They just feel like family._

=/\=

_Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154_

_I guess that's the day, but it's not, and God knows when we really are. I've been scared before, but dying, I think, is one thing. This is different, and it's so strange._

_Our descendants – mine with Lieutenant Reed? And I had – er, will have – two with Major Hayes? And how could Charlotte have known that I like them both? I had always thought they were gay men, although I was hopeful. I suppose I've been wrong about that._

_It'll take me a while to process this, I can tell. Not just what may or may not have happened, but also about those people. What happened to them? Were they really our families? I like to think that they are. Charlotte even sounded a little like I remember my mother's voice was like._

_I hope they're all right, wherever they are, and whenever._

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154_

_I don't know what to say. This day has been, perhaps, the most mixed-up day in the history of all days. And it's not resolved. Maybe it won't ever be resolved._

_We met a ship, identical to ours although worn and weathered and older. And it was manned by people claiming to be our children, grandchildren, God, one of them called me Great-great-granddaddy. I don't even have a girlfriend right now! It's unsettling._

_But for T'Pol, I imagine it was worse. They claimed she was still among the living. How can such a. a temporal paradox exist?_

_And now we are, I think, flipped back in time. Will we meet them? Or us? It's all so confusing._

_All I know is that I need to at least try to contact Richard Daniels. He's the only person I know who's successfully traveled in time – Vulcan Science Directorate be damned. _

_He owes us an explanation, big time._

=/\=

_Charles Tucker III's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154_

_I don't get it. We met people who say they're our kids, grandkids. And mine are part-Vulcan. So T'Pol and I are together, in some way. She's kinda in denial about the whole thing. She says they were full Vulcans – you can't really tell just by looking – and there musta been some Vulcan brought in. But why the hell would that happen? Doesn't she know I care?_

_As for them, I don't know how I feel about them. It's flattering, in a way. But I also gotta wonder – why the hell didn't they stop the Xindi weapon from hittin' Earth? They knew about it!_

=/\=

_Jay Hayes's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154_

_Me and Chef's assistant? Weird. She's a good person, kinda attractive. Definitely the right age for me. But married? Me? I'm not the marrying kind._

_And then there's everything else. I've been so unlucky in love I don't know where to start. So I succeeded somehow? Is there hope for me yet? Particularly after Darareaksmey Preap and then Christine Chalmers and then, God, Susan Cheshire, I gotta wonder about that, particularly as it looks like O'Day may have cheated on me. Not again; I thought I was done with that after the Chalmers debacle._

=/\=

_Malcolm Reed's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154_

_Tripp Tucker once asked me if I wanted to know, in advance, about the woman I was to wed. And I said yes. I still feel that way._

_And now, oddly, and in a way, I know._

_Of course it's not perfect. We were evidently lovers and never wed. She was actually wife to Hayes. Strange. And what she wears! It's so very boxy! What does she look like under that assistant's uni she wears? I fear I might not like all that I see. I know that's shallow. But I would want to be, well, stimulated by her. Is there too much there? Is this all too much to ask? Am I being horribly shallow?_

_But she is kind. And I have noticed her eyes. They are spectacular – even better than Rochelle's ever were._

=/\=

_T'Pol's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154_

_I am not so certain that the Vulcan Science Directorate is correct._

=/\=

_Travis Mayweather's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154_

_I would give anything to put the stars back to where they were, just a few hours ago. What the hell just happened?_

48


	2. Failed Connections

Chapter 2 – Failed Connections

In 3099, Richard Daniels looked up from his PADD as his boss, Admiral Carmen Calavicci, entered his office. "Something I can do for you?" he asked.

"Nothing in particular," she said, "I have a bit of a mission for you."

"Oh? Where and when am I going to?"

"You'll stay here," she said, "it's job interviews. I have got two candidates and I'd like to bring them both in. Mister O'Connor has taken his lovely wife on vacation so you are elected to help me."

"Oh, uh, okay."

"One is Otra D'Angelo. She's half-human and half-Witannen, and can reportedly see temporal alternatives. The other is her friend, Levi Cavendish. He's an engineer – he can design and build time ships."

"But we don't need time ships, with the time portals," Richard pointed out.

"Don't be so sure. We might want to ferry several more people than usual. Or we might want to send people to the Mirror Universe."

"Ah," he said. "Well, let me know what I can do to help."

"Thanks; I knew I could count on you." She departed.

He glanced at his PADD, which had gone into sleep mode, and showed old family photographs, going back over a thousand years. There were a lot of people he only knew by name, and then it was only because there was a caption to the photograph. One such picture was of a woman named Lili O'Day.

=/\=

In her cabin, Lili dreamt.

_It was pitch dark, but she could hear or perhaps just sense someone. "Who's there?" she called out._

"_You don't know me," said a male voice._

"_You sound like Jay Hayes."_

"_Similar," he allowed. "I don't mean to alarm you. And I know that yesterday's events are troubling you. And a lot of other events will as well. But I want you to know, Lili; that I will be here during your darkest hours. You can count on me."_

_His hand briefly pressed hers, his thumb caressing her fingers. _

A little alarmed, she woke.

"Oh, my!" she called out.

"You okay, roomie?" asked her roommate, Engineering Ensign Jennifer Crossman.

"What?"

"You called out in your sleep."

"Well, I talk in my sleep. You know that," Lili shook off the feeling. It had been … weird. It was almost like someone trying to be comforting, but being a bit awkward in the execution. "Uh, I better get breakfast rolling."

"Aren't you the least bit curious about things?" asked Jenny.

"Aren't you the least bit hungry?" Lili countered. "I'm sure greater minds than myself will be working on that." There was a PADD chime. "Ah," she said, checking messages, "I'm serving an exec level breakfast today in the Observation Lounge."

"There are those greater minds you were talking about." Jenny headed for the shower.

=/\=

The executive staff sat down as Lili served breakfast. "I made scrambled eggs," she said, "with cheese." Lieutenant Reed made a bit of a face. "Did you not want cheese, sir? I can get you something else."

"No, uh, that's all right, Ensign," he said, lips tight.

"I also made Scottish steel-cut oats for Commander T'Pol. Plus there's fresh fruit on the side, jams and butter, plus wheat toast. Coffee is just about done, too. And I have," there was a whistle, "tea. That'll be the tea." She put out a box of assorted tea bags. Only T'Pol and Malcolm took tea. She started to pour hot water for them.

Captain Archer spoke. "It's looking an awful lot like we suffered the same setback as that other ship did. So I am guessing we're in 2037 although we'll need to confirm that. T'Pol?"

"Captain, despite what the Vulcan Science Directorate has determined regarding time travel; it would appear that the year is, indeed, different from 2154. As to how different, that will require study of the stars and their positions. If you could assist me, Ensign Mayweather – that would be helpful."

"Yes, Ma'am," Travis took some strawberry preserves for his toast.

"Sir," Shelby Pike reported, "we might need to start thinking about our rations and the like."

"In a moment," the captain turned, "Hoshi?"

"I've checked and there is no Jupiter Station and there is no Mars Colony," she replied. "As for settlements further out, those of course aren't there as well. The Lunar Colony does not exist, either. I have not yet tried to ping Earth, but I fear the worst. Plus it'll take a while. We are rather far from home, sir."

"Right." The captain turned. "Malcolm?"

"We sustained some minor damage in our engagement with the species called Imvari, but I believe there was more sustained when we were hit by the Kovaalan particle wake. It's nothing that can't be repaired quickly, I'll wager." He pushed his food around on his plate and only picked at it a little.

"Tripp?" asked Captain Archer.

"I got repair crews goin' and they should be done soon. Malcolm's right – damages were minor, which is good. It's a pity that Jupiter Station isn't an option."

"Phlox?"

"We had a few very minor injuries. Crewman Rosen has a sprained wrist from falling on it after we hit the particle wake. But even he isn't in Sick Bay."

"Good," Archer stated. "Major?"

"The MACOs stand ready to defend this ship and her crew," Jay Hayes said. He reached over a little for the jar of blueberry jam. Lili noticed and pushed it in his direction. "Uh, thanks. Anyway, I'll conduct readiness drills, as always, Captain."

"Chef?"

"Shelby mentioned provisions," Will echoed, "I'll have Ensign O'Day take the inventory. And, uh, we may need someone to assist if we need to start figuring out rationing and the like, I'm sorry to say."

"Perhaps someone from the Science Department could assist," Jonathan suggested. "What about the other ship's database?"

"We haven't opened it yet, sir," Hoshi said, "I will definitely need help with that. Since the Science Department might be otherwise occupied, maybe I could ask for volunteers."

"Good idea," said the captain. "They went through this, or at least it seems that way. They'll probably have ideas about provisions as well."

"Sir," Lili asked, "er, sorry to interrupt, but will we meet the other version of the _NX-01_ that was kicked back in time?"

"I wish I knew, Ensign."

"Can we get help from someone?" Travis asked. "I mean, we're all looking to help each other. But who's gonna, overall, help all of us?"

"Actually, I'm glad you mentioned that," Archer decided, "I would like to try to get a message through to Daniels. Hoshi, Malcolm, we'll do this together after breakfast."

"Very well, sir," stated Malcolm.

The remainder of the meal passed in relative silence.

=/\=

Once breakfast was finished, Lili tucked the dirty dishes into a cart, ready to bring them back to the galley in order to load them into the sanitizer. She looked up when she saw Malcolm Reed hovering. "Sir?"

"I, uh, Ensign, what Charlotte said, it was, uh, it was you and I."

"I know," she said, "we, uh; we don't know each other that well. Maybe we should get better acquainted. Uh, sir."

"We probably should."

"Uh, sir, can I ask – why didn't you eat your eggs? Were they cold?"

"No, Ensign."

"You don't like cheese," she said, "come to the galley with me and I'll make you plain eggs."

"You don't have to," he said.

"It's all right," she replied. She peered at him. "Wait – you've asked for sandwiches with cheese, and I've made them for you. It's something else, then, isn't it? And don't tell me you're watching your weight, because I'm positive that you don't have to."

"Can, uh," he glanced around nervously although they were alone in the room, "can you keep a secret?"

"Absolutely."

"I have, it's rather embarrassing. I have a condition called lactose intolerance."

"Oh!" she said. "Now it all makes sense. Tell ya what. I can announce rather loudly whenever something's got dairy in it. I can make it look like I'm telling the vegans or the folks who keep kosher. You listen for that, all right? And either eat vegan for that meal or, um, I can probably whip you up something small on those nights. But, uh, you've gotta do something for me."

"Oh?"

"You'd need to keep that secret, Lieutenant. Otherwise, everyone's gonna want a special order."

They began walking to the galley together. "Thank you for understanding. Perhaps, uh, perhaps this is how we bond," he said. They both reddened.

He held the door for her as she backed the cart in. She looked at him after the door closed again. "This is all so damnably awkward now. I don't know, heh, what the future will bring, but can we at least be friends? I think for now that'll be easier." She held out her right hand.

He shook her hand, lingering just a little bit. "Absolutely."

She put the dishes into the sanitizer and then set about making him a small dish of plain scrambled eggs. He sat on a stool in the galley and watched her work and, just a little bit, again wondered what she looked like under her chef's whites.

=/\=

There was a communications chime after a while. Malcolm flipped open his communicator as he swallowed the last of the scrambled eggs. "Reed here."

"Let's go to Cabin E-14," said Captain Archer.

"Right away, sir. Reed out." He got up. "I, uh, I have to go. This was very good. But, uh, everything you make is, it's delectable."

"Why, thank you, Lieutenant," she said. A bell _dinged_, signifying that the sanitizer had completed its cycle, and there were clean dishes to be unloaded. "I've got stuff to do, too. See ya."

He left, and she chuckled to herself. "_Delectable_, eh?"

=/\=

At Richard Daniels's old cabin, Malcolm turned the dial in the right combination so as to get the huge magnetic lock off the door. He hit the door panel and waited for Jonathan and Hoshi to enter before he did.

Jonathan began going through drawers. One had clean socks in it. Another had clean undershorts. Hoshi started looking around the desk. Malcolm just stood there, feeling strange about ransacking the man's quarters, although he did turn on a scanner, searching for anomalous radiation.

Jonathan finally touched something inside the tee shirt drawer. "Hang on; I think I've got something." He pulled it out and Malcolm immediately started scanning it. The captain turned it over in his hands a few times. "It's a metal disk."

"But there's no engraving on it, at least nothing I can spot," Hoshi said, "it's almost like a slug, you know, a coin was stamped out but the year and the decoration and all that kinda stuff, it never made it onto this piece."

"Huh," Archer said.

=/\=

In 3099, Richard Daniels was interviewing two job candidates for the Temporal Integrity Commission's Human Unit. One was the fully human engineer, Levi Cavendish.

The other was a half-human, half-Witannen woman named Otra D'Angelo. Her Witannen heritage was readily apparent as she had chavecoi – they resembled flowers – growing from her scalp.

The chavecoi dipped and turned and tangled and detangled themselves as they turned various shades, first of pink, then blue, and then violet. They moved independently, and Otra could not control them.

About the only thing that betrayed Otra's human parentage, apart from the existence of a last name, was the fact that she didn't have a pureblooded Witannen's little vestigial wings.

They had been talking about working conditions. "And there are bunks here," Rick was saying, "in case the timeline really goes _caca_, as Kevin O'Connor says. We're outside of time here – actually, anyone who works here is set up that way. So we can fix even problems that might otherwise wipe us from existence. Rather handy, eh? But everyone else, they're not so lucky, I'm afraid."

"Seeing temporal alternatives," Otra said, "it can be confusing at times. Perhaps being extratemporal will help to keep me from getting so addled."

"Well, I dunno," said Rick, and then he noticed that her eyes had rolled into the back of her head. Alarmed, he asked Cavendish, "What the hell is going on? Should I get the Department's doctor?" His finger hovered over the tiny communicator implanted behind his left ear, ready to call Doctor Boris Yarin.

"Nah," said Cavendish, "she's just having a vision. She'll snap out of it in a minute or so."

Alarms began to go off as the computer system started to catch up with Otra. And, in her unconscious state, she saw a ship that looked superficially like an octopus. It devoured planets whole and, somehow she determined, it spat out sentient slaves of several species – more specifically, Ikaaran, Xyrillian and human.

=/\=

Back on the newer _NX-01_, Archer, Reed and Sato were still looking at the metal disc. "Impressions?" Jonathan finally asked.

"If I had a clue as to what to look for, or what not to look for, I might be able to say something constructive," Hoshi replied. "But this just looks like a metal slug."

"Agreed," said Malcolm, "but, just in case, we might want to place it back exactly where we found it."

Jonathan put it back.

=/\=

And in 3099, Otra snapped out of it, as expected. "I, I think it's gone back," she said.

And, sure enough, the computers caught up and, they too, reported that the timeline, such as it was, had been restored. At least, when it came to the temporal transmitter, for that was what that seemingly innocuous metal slug really was.

=/\=

On the Bridge, they were having much better luck. The task was to determine the year and the date to the highest possible degree of accuracy. First, Commander T'Pol, along with Science Crewman Diana Jones, cursorily checked the database that had been sent over by the other ship.

"It's tempting to just surf around and check out everything in that database," Diana said.

"That would not be a productive use of our time right now," replied the Vulcan. Finally, T'Pol spotted the answer, amidst the logs. "2037, namely, it was April the nineteenth."

"But it says here that you determined it by calculating against known Xyrillian dates. We don't have that."

"Correct. However, there can be some comparison of stellar positioning." They had been in the situation room at the back of the Bridge and returned to their stations as Ensign Aidan MacKenzie got up from the Captain's Chair and walked over to the Tactical station.

"Mister Mayweather," T'Pol commanded, "compare the data I am about to transmit to you, to current stellar positioning."

"Right away," replied the pilot. He set to work as soon as he received the data.

"Yanno," said Sandra Sloane from the Communications station, where she was filling in for Hoshi, "if ya ask me, I'd say you were going about it all wrong."

"Sandra!" Diana exclaimed.

"No, I wish to hear this," was the cool Vulcan response. "Where do you believe there was an error?"

"Can't we just," Sandra said, and she sounded smug and more than a little exasperated, as if she were dealing with an uncooperative child for the umpteenth time, "listen to broadcasts from Earth or Vulcan?"

The Vulcan eyebrow was raised. "We'll do as you suggest. Begin with Earth broadcasts."

As Sandra worked her equipment to try to pick up broadcasts, Travis completed his task. "I'd say it's 2037," he said, "but it's later. Things are close but it isn't perfect – and it should be. We definitely didn't go back to the exact same day, or anything like that."

Sandra tapped on her earpiece. "Aha! I got it! Audio only, I'm afraid. It's because of the distance."

"Very well," allowed T'Pol, "we will listen."

The doors swished open as Captain Archer, Hoshi and Malcolm returned to duty. From the Communications station, the broadcast could be heard.

"_Heavy bombardment on the Gulf Coast continued, as old oil drilling platforms took a pounding. Eco-warriors are reportedly destroying or commandeering any known remaining oil or coal_."

The announcer paused as, perhaps, a page was flipped or a new computer screen was brought up. "_In other news, French forces celebrated Bastille Day by distributing brioche to starving Parisians. 'Let them eat cake', indeed_ …"

"Isn't Bastille Day on July the fourteenth?" Malcolm asked.

"Yes," Hoshi confirmed, "so it's either the fourteenth or the fifteenth."

"Let's, uh," the captain thought for a moment, "let's assume it's the fourteenth, since the news reader didn't mention anything about the French holiday being celebrated yesterday."

"That is a logical inference," T'Pol conceded.

Archer commanded, "I'd like the intercom, please, Hoshi." Sandra and Aidan were still on the Bridge. He addressed them. "Thanks again. You're going to be doing Bridge duty more, I figure, as the senior staff will need to meet about this tomorrow."

"Go ahead, Captain," said Hoshi.

"All hands, this is the captain. We have, to a high degree of accuracy, determined the correct date. It's July the fourteenth of 2037." He swallowed a little. "I know you'll have questions. I know I do. The senior staff will meet tomorrow. We will start to think about what to do, not only about our situation, but also with reference to the database that Charlotte Archer," he smiled for a second upon saying her name, "forwarded to us. There's gold in there; we are certain of that. But we want to utilize it effectively. You are a smart, effective crew. We will get through this, together. Thank you."

Hoshi cut the sound and he looked around the Bridge and sighed. "I'm going to be in my Ready Room for a while. T'Pol, you have the Bridge."

He went in, sat down, and put his head in his hands, thinking about what to do next.

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, July fourteenth, 2037_

_I hope I can find some wisdom in that database. There must be something beyond personnel files and birth and death and marriage records. We are later than they were, but not by much._

=/\=

_Malcolm Reed's Personal Log, July fourteenth, 2037_

_Going into Daniels's quarters was one thing, but we rifled through the man's undergarments drawer! It seems beyond the pale, but what can we do? It feels like a compromising of integrity._

=/\=

_Jay Hayes's Personal Log, July fourteenth, 2037_

_I suppose I should talk to Lili O'Day, although God knows what it would be about. "Hi – we're supposed to get married." God, how ridiculous would that sound, particularly as, it seems, she left me. I wish I knew what to say and do. How do you begin?_

=/\=

_Daniel Chang's Personal Log, July fourteenth, 2037_

_So I ended up with Sandra? That witch?! _

=/\=

_Hoshi Sato's Personal Log, July fourteenth, 2037_

_I married the Quartermaster? Really?_


	3. The Barest of Bones

Chapter 3 – The Barest of Bones

It was early. Lili was setting out muffins and Danish on a tray in the Observation Lounge for the executive staff's breakfast meeting. She turned to put on the coffee when the doors swished open. "You're early," she said, back to the doors. "Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain."

"Oh, uh, sorry, Ensign." It was Major Hayes.

She spun around quickly, almost losing her balance. He made as if to leave. She called out, "Don't go!" Her voice quavered a little, a betrayal of some nerves on her part.

"Oh?"

"Uh, Major?" she said, assured that he would stay and listen to her, "it's all so awkward."

"Yeah, I know," he admitted, "Actually, that's why I'm here early. I mean; you and me?"

"I know", she said, "and Charlotte had said you and I had two kids together."

"Yeah."

"I, um, I wouldn't do that with, with just anybody."

He nodded. "I don't think of myself as the fatherly type. I guess, uh, I guess we all have to, now. I mean, it's just a matter of time before this ship turns generational."

"Right," she said, starting up hot water for tea. "We, uh, you and I, we don't talk much."

"I know. And, uh, I gotta wonder, uh, it was you and me, but it was also you and, and Reed. Did you leave me?"

"I don't know," she said, even more nervous. "I know myself. I'm a loyal person. I wonder who that woman was."

"Or that guy," he said, thumping his own chest.

"Can we, can we be friends?" she asked, holding out her hand, palm up in supplication. He stared at her hand and then she corrected herself and changed her hand's position to perpendicular to the floor. They shook hands.

The doors opened and Shelby Pike walked in with Hoshi Sato. The remainder of the executive staff entered as Lili turned the heat off from under a whistling teakettle.

=/\=

In the gym, the MACOs went through drills as Julie McKenzie and Frank Todd put them through their paces. "Do we _hafta_?" complained Chang.

"_Yes_," Frank insisted. "Fighting readiness and discipline are more important now than ever before." He was a _very_ big guy, and so that was that.

"Maybe a break would be good," Julie said, "I can feel I'm getting a cramp." She mopped a brow damp with perspiration.

"All right! Take five!" Todd bellowed.

Chang retreated to near where the exercise bicycles were. Brad Moreno, Gary Hodgkins, Victor Brown and Neil Kemper joined him. Tristan Curtis and Brooks Haynem from Security were nearby. They put down free weights in order to join them. "I bet they'll announce it today," Chang opened with.

"Announce what?" Victor Brown inquired.

"That this'll be a generational ship. So it'll be open season on the honeys."

"I heard you were already set," said Tristan Curtis. "Didn't that chick Charlotte say you and Sloane had a kid?"

"The dice rolled one way," Chang said, "maybe this time they'll roll another way. I mean, ya gotta avoid the dogs, like Socorro and O'Day and, heh," he snored a bit, "Money over there."

Susie Money, who was chatting with Julie, Nan Myers and Stellar Cartographer Ingrid Nyqvist, either didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him.

"I'm gonna go after Crossman," Chang said, "I wanna see if she's a natural redhead, if yanno what I mean. Or Sato, or maybe Haddon. She looks like she could take a good –"

He stopped talking as the other men backed away. Then he saw Todd nearby. "Take a good _what_?" Todd asked, snarling.

"Nothing _you'd_ know about," Chang said.

"You'd be surprised at what I experimented with," Todd said, "Now you and Kemper, Moreno and Brown, drop and give me twenty. And I don't wanna hear anything else from any of you about comparing the women. Or the men, for that matter. Generational ship or not, we will treat each other with courtesy and respect. This will go on report to the Major. I trust I make myself clear?"

"Yes," said Kemper.

"Oh and as for you, Curtis and Haynem," Todd said, as Chang began doing pushups, "You're on report to Reed for this little incident. Now let's get back to the regular workout and stop this nonsense and nastiness right now."

"Yes," said Brown.

=/\=

In the Observation Lounge, the executive staff got settled in as Lili served. "I can also make cocoa in case anyone wants," she said, "just give me a few minutes. Oh, and we have cheese, blueberry and cherry Danish. They're all easily identified by the color of whatever's in the center. The cherry and blueberry varieties are dairy-free. The muffins are bran, lemon poppy seed and coconut lime. Only the coconut lime is dairy-free."

"Thank you for your consideration," T'Pol replied, taking one of the cherry Danish.

"Which is the coconut?" Malcolm asked.

"Here," she said, taking one for him. "Tea?"

"Yes. The gunpowder, if you have it."

"You're in luck," she said, handing him a tea bag and then pouring hot water into his cup.

A PADD chimed, and they all checked. It was the Major's. "Huh," he said, scowling a bit. Lili grabbed one of the pieces of blueberry Danish with the tongs and set it on the plate in front of him. "Oh, uh, yeah, thanks," he said absently, still staring at the PADD and frowning. He shook his head as he clicked something to change screens and the cover of the book he was reading came up. It was Sun Tzu's _The Art of War_.

Captain Archer spoke. "I'd like to start delving into that database. I know that everyone on the ship is anxious to see what's in there. And everyone is certainly entitled to their own log entries, and the entries made by their next of kin, all going down in a straight line. So, if I understood Charlotte, that would mean that I would not be entitled to look at her logs, but Major Hayes, Lieutenant Reed, Doctor Phlox, Commander T'Pol, Commander Tucker and Ensign O'Day here would. But I would be entitled to see the log entries made by her husband, Andrew Archer. And so would the Major, Ensign O'Day, Doctor Phlox again, and several others. It's rather tangled."

"Captain," T'Pol suggested, "given the date, and our location, we will need to know all navigational logs, so as to avoid coming into contact with the other _NX-01_, thereby jeopardizing its history, not to mention the very existence of Charlotte, Andrew and all the rest of them."

"Can you quickly locate their navigational logs from today and, say, a week before and a week after?" the captain asked Hoshi.

"Sure, just a second," she tapped on her PADD. "Got it."

"Send those over to Chris Harris. Tell him to stay as far away from those coordinates as he safely can. Make sure Aidan gets a copy. We'll set regular courses soon enough. If there's a planet or a star we can hide behind, let's do that as a stop-gap measure."

"Understood, sir," she said as she tapped out the instructions and then sent the note. "Okay, ready."

"All right," said the captain, "let's start with bare bones. I'd like you to assemble a timeline. It should only be limited to the ninety-two people currently on board – fifty-eight men and thirty-four women. I want records of births, deaths, marriages, divorces, promotions, demotions and any medals and disciplinary hearings." Hoshi began clicking away in order to gather the data. "And instead of just sending the file to each of our PADDs, I'd like you to read it aloud. If it gets long, feel free to pass your PADD around. I just think it'll be best if we all hear it at the same time. And, uh, I don't need to remind everyone, but this meeting is classified."

"Understood, sir. Orange juice?"

"Sure."

She poured as they waited for Hoshi to compile the data. While they were waiting, Will added, "If there are going to be a lot more of these meetings, the Ensign and I could use some help. At some point, she'll need to leave in order to prepare lunch."

"I think we'll have to reshuffle a lot of people," Archer opined, "I get the feeling Navigation is going to get a lot less busy. Ready?" he asked Hoshi. She nodded. "Let's hear it."

=/\=

Hoshi cleared her throat and proceeded. "Uh, the first entry is a disciplinary action from April thirteenth, 2037. It says here that Private Chang was disciplined for, uh …."

"I can fill it in for you, Ensign," Jay interrupted, "I bet it was for sexual harassment, right?" She nodded so he continued. "I've got a report that he did the same thing today. I don't have the specifics; I'll have to ask Private Todd. But apparently Chang was having a conversation with some MACOs and a few of the Security crewmen as well, Lieutenant."

"Oh," Malcolm checked his PADD. "There it is. Mister Haynem and Mister Curtis were involved as well. I have no particulars, either."

"So history is repeating itself," Shelby stated.

"Not necessarily," the captain explained, "after all, it's July, not April. We can't expect people to react too differently. But look into the disciplining that was done last time. Uh, after we're done with this meeting. And we'll see. If it was effective, let's just do it again. If not, well, we'll try something new. Ensign Sato?"

"Yes," she said, reading aloud, "The next entry is from September twentieth, 2037. It's for the wedding of Judy Kelly and Michael Rostov."

"Engineering's the first outta the gate, eh?" Tripp said.

"October twenty-seventh, 2037 – wedding of T'Pol and Charles Tucker III," Hoshi announced.

T'Pol raised an eyebrow very slightly as Tripp grinned.

"Next?" Jonathan asked.

"November eighteenth, 2037 – wedding of Karin Bernstein and Joshua Rosen."

"I'd better learn a Jewish ceremony," stated the captain, "and a Vulcan one as well," he added hastily.

"March twenty-seventh, 2038," Hoshi began.

"Oh, that's my birthday," Lili muttered absently.

"Yes, uh," Hoshi continued, "Sandra Sloane was confined to quarters for; it says here it was for rumormongering and jeopardizing morale."

"There must be more in the logs," speculated the captain.

Hoshi nodded. "August twelfth, 2038, Amanda Tiburón born to Oscar Tiburón and Tracey Carter."

"So there's the first kid," Travis stated.

"That's not the only thing that happened that day," said Hoshi, "it says here it's also the wedding of Michelle Pike and Andrew Miller."

"Andy?" Shelby asked, a little dubious.

"August thirty-first, 2038, wedding of Jennifer Crossman and Aidan MacKenzie," Hoshi said.

Lili smiled to herself. That one had been as she'd predicted. "More coffee, anyone?"

"Uh, sure," said Jay.

"September eighteenth, 2038, Valleri Rostov born to Michael Rostov and Judy Kelly Rostov."

"Perhaps the incident with Sloane was an isolated one," Malcolm mused, "I don't see anything else and it's, what, five months later?"

"There's more to tell," Will reminded him.

"October ninth, 2038, wedding of Maryam Haroun and Azar Hamidi," Hoshi said, "you might wanna add Muslim wedding ceremony to your reading list, Captain."

"Right away," he smiled a bit. "Lots of weddings, man oh man! I guess we can all figure out how we spent our time."

"October twenty-fifth, 2038, the following promotions occurred – Charles Tucker III was promoted to full Commander; Lieutenant Malcolm Reed was promoted to Commander; Ensign Aidan MacKenzie, Ensign Hoshi Sato and Ensign Travis Mayweather were promoted to Lieutenant Commander. The following were promoted to Ensign – Karin Bernstein-Rosen, Azar Hamidi, Maryam Haroun Hamidi, Diana Jones, Chandrasekar Khan, Andrew Miller, Michelle Pike Miller, Joshua Rosen and Craig Willets. The following were given the Distinguished Service Medal – Karin Bernstein-Rosen, Maryam Haroun Hamidi, Chandrasekar Khan, Andrew Miller, Michelle Pike Miller and Craig Willets."

"Looks like we did something other than get married," Travis observed.

"The medals were for people changing roles, it seems," Hoshi stated, reading. "Karin was given hers for being involved in command. Maryam got hers for working in Communications. Sekar got his for Quartermaster work. Andrew got his for; it says here he was training to be a doctor. Shelby, you got yours for growing crops. Craig got his for working in Food Service and programming the replicators."

"Well, there's our helper, O'Day," Will speculated.

"Sounds good to me," Lili replied.

"There are also promotions among the MACOs," Hoshi said, "uh, Corporal McKenzie was promoted to Sergeant, and Private Todd and Private Money were made Corporals."

Jay nodded, thinking about who would be trustworthy, and who, eventually, might end up replacing him as the CO.

"Uh, oh, the next entry's not so nice," Hoshi said, "November fifth, 2038, Sandra Sloane was sent to the Brig, and the following were confined to quarters or otherwise disciplined –Mario Lattimer, Susie Money, Brad Moreno, Nanette Myers, Ethan Novakovich, Ingrid Nyqvist, Mark Reilly and Patti Socorro."

"What happened?" Jonathan asked, alarmed.

"It seems, uh, there was a riot in the Observation Lounge. It says here that Nyqvist started it."

"Sloane probably ended up in the Brig because she'd been confined to quarters earlier," Phlox mused. "You know, clinical depression can sometimes manifest itself in increased tendencies toward aggression."

"You think that's what this was?" asked the captain.

"It would not shock me," replied the Denobulan.

"Next?" asked the captain, unsure if he wanted to hear it.

"June fourth, 2039, John Phlox born to Phlox and Amanda Cole."

"I beg your pardon?" asked the doctor. "Despite what Charlotte had said; humans and Denobulans cannot interbreed at this time."

"That database is sure full o' surprises, eh?" Tripp asked. "I betcha ya can now."

"I suppose we can," mused the doctor. "I, I know that Charlotte had mentioned that, but I don't suppose I had put it all together until just now. How extraordinary!"

"June twenty-third, 2039, Jeffrey Woods born to Walter Woods and Mara Brodsky Slater."

"Holy cow," Tripp said, whistling through his teeth.

"August eleventh, 2039, divorce of Robert Slater and Mara Brodsky. Full custody of the child Jeffrey Woods granted to Mara Brodsky and Walter Woods."

"October eighth, 2039," said Hoshi, "Lili O'Day and Jay Hayes rescued from Imvari captivity. Commendations to participants Malcolm Reed, Franklin Thomas Todd, Gary Hodgkins, Ramih Azar, Victor Brown, Tristan Curtis, William Dane, Eric Forbes , Edmund Hamboyan, Mario Lattimer, Mark Reilly, Robert Slater and Anthony Vittorio. One casualty – Gary Hodgkins."

"I wonder how we were captured," Lili speculated absently.

"October thirteenth, 2039," Hoshi read aloud, "It's a disciplinary action. Ensign Craig Willets was demoted by one rank, back to Crewman after he confessed to, oh, this is weird."

"Well?" asked the captain.

"It says he spray-painted graffiti outside Ensign O'Day's door."

"What?" asked Lili.

"I suppose the details will tell the tale," the captain speculated.

"How odd," Lili replied, and then set about clearing some of the dirty dishes.

"October fifteenth, 2039, oh my God," Hoshi said.

"What is it?" asked the captain.

"Sir, this is really bad. Uh," she sighed, "the following were taken into custody and placed into the Brig – Private Victor Brown, Private Daniel Chang, Crewman Tristan Curtis and Private Brad Moreno."

"What's the charge?" asked Jay.

"God," Hoshi was troubled, "it's for raping Patti Socorro."

The silence was palpable. Except for T'Pol, everyone looked like they'd had the wind knocked out of them.

"Here, I'll continue." The captain took the PADD from Hoshi after a while. "November nineteenth, 2039, trial begins for Brown, Chang, Curtis, Moreno, Sloane and Haynem."

"Where are Sloane and Haynem involved?" asked Will.

"We'll have to look at the logs for that, I'm sure," guessed the captain. "December twenty-sixth, 2039, sentencing – all six were found guilty. All were taken to a planet called Paradise for six months of harvesting labor. Afterwards, Sloane and Haynem were released and the others were brought to a planet called Amity for more farming work. Those four remained there for a year. Kemper and Moreno were then released. Chang and Curtis were brought to the North Pole of Amity for a six-month stint. Then there was supposed to be six months on a mining planet, but only for Chang. But it looks like it didn't work out that way. After Kemper and Moreno were returned, about a month afterwards, the other two escaped."

"Escaped?" asked Jay, "Where the hell could they possibly go?"

"Somewhere on the planet, I'm guessing," said the captain. He shook his head. "Here, I'd rather talk about some happier news, all right?"

"The details will be available in the captain's logs, no doubt," T'Pol stated.

The captain talked about births and more weddings for a while, and then added, "September second, 2040, Jeremiah Logan Hayes born to Jay Hayes and Charlotte Lilienne O'Day."

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, suddenly sitting down in an empty chair. He continued talking.

"December twelfth, 2041, wedding of Ebrona, an Ikaaran, and Jonathan Archer." He looked up. "Do you know about this species, T'Pol?"

"No, except for Charlotte quickly mentioning them," she stated, "it is another mystery." Phlox also shook his head.

The captain continued, as more weddings and births were announced; many of them were part-Ikaaran. "January eleventh, 2042, Madeline Suzette Hayes, born to Jay Hayes and Charlotte Lilienne O'Day."

"There's our second," Jay stated.

"October thirty-first, 2043, Pamela Morgan Reed, born to Malcolm Reed and Charlotte Lilienne O'Day."

"And there's mine," Malcolm confirmed quietly.

The captain went on for a while more, and then came to another difficult entry. He sighed. "This one is, well, it's the first deaths, other than Hodgkins. Are we ready to hear about them?"

"May as well," Tripp answered for all of them.

"June thirtieth, 2052, on a mission to rescue Daniel Chang and Tristan Curtis from an Imvari slave ship, the following casualties were sustained," began the captain.

"Imvari?" T'Pol asked, "This is the species that attacked."

"The casualties were Daniel Chang, Tristan Curtis, Edmund Hamboyan, Christian Harris, Lloyd Ketcham and Malcolm Reed. Causes of death are the destruction of the Imvari ship; except for Chang, who died in Sick Bay, of acute malnutrition and starvation."

Lili put a hand up to her face, trembling. Malcolm turned pale.

"I have another entry for that day," reported Jonathan, "wedding of Jay Hayes and Charlotte Lilienne O'Day. Family changes their surname to Reed-Hayes in memory of Malcolm Reed. Pamela Morgan Reed is hereby adopted by Jay Hayes."

"God, I hope we logged that somehow," Lili stated, "'cause I can't figure it out at all. We, somehow, all three of us, we had some sort of an understanding, it seems."

"I have another entry for that day," the captain reported, "death – Ebrona, an Ikaaran, wife of Jonathan Archer. Cause – _the decline_. Age – forty-six."

"What's _the decline_?" asked Shelby.

"I have no idea," replied the doctor, "I will assume that there are research notes. Perhaps a cure was found later."

The captain continued on, as more Ikaarans passed on but grandchildren were also born, including Jeremiah Reed-Hayes's three. "December third, 2082, death – Jay Reed-Hayes, husband of Charlotte Lilienne Reed-Hayes. Cause – myocardial infarction. Age – ninety-six."

Lili again reacted, taking a handkerchief out of a zippered pocket.

"December fourth, 2082, death – Charlotte Lilienne Reed-Hayes, widow of Jay Reed-Hayes. Cause – suicide by ingestion of tricoulamine tablet. Age – eighty-nine."

"My God," Lili murmured softly. The closest person was Shelby, who put a hand on her arm.

The captain read more, going to 2109, when the last of the original crew had died – Brian Delacroix. He had been eighty-six years of age.

A bell _dinged_ on a PADD, and Lili jumped. "It's your PADD, O'Day," Will told her, "it's eleven hundred hours. You've got to start lunch."

"Oh, uh, yeah," she murmured, rising a little shakily.

"Let's adjourn," decided the captain. "I don't know about anyone else, but this is all I can take for one day. Jay, Malcolm, let's figure out a suitable punishment for today's offenders. I don't want this escalating like it did last time. And Hoshi, when we get back to the Bridge, I'd like the intercom for a big announcement."

"Of course, sir."

=/\=

After lunch, Captain Archer made the announcement. "Members of the crew, it's obvious, but I wanted to get it out there – the _NX-01_ is now a generational ship. This means that the rules against fraternization no longer apply, even to persons of differing ranks. Furthermore, the executive staff has read a basic outline of the timeline as is reflected in the other _NX-01_'s database. We know who married whom," he smiled a little, "and we will release that information tonight. The remainder of the database will be released in piecemeal fashion, except for personal logs, which will be released starting tomorrow. Everyone is entitled to view their own logs, and those of their direct in-line descendants. For Charlotte Reed-Hayes Archer, that includes the following persons – Lili O'Day, Jay Hayes, Malcolm Reed, Doctor Phlox, Amanda Cole, Sandra Sloane and Daniel Chang, among others."

He paused for a breath. "The numbers and entanglements can be a bit daunting. One thing we know is that a number of the men married women from a species known as Ikaarans. Since we can't run into the same people, then that will of course change. We have also learned that that species is rather short-lived. We will be searching within the medical and scientific records in order to determine whether anything was done about that. It might prove to be an effective bargaining chip in the event of negotiations with that species."

He paused again. "I am, I am sure, getting ahead of myself. There is time to digest all of this. But I want everyone to know that the records are good, but they aren't dispositive. No one says it's all got to work out exactly the way it did the last time around. Archer out."

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037_

_Rapists on the ship? Cuckoldings? Escaped prisoners? Graffiti? Short-lived alien brides? Some sort of threesome arrangement for my Tactical Officer, the MACOs' CO and the sous-chef? What the hell?_

_What kind of a place did I run?_

=/\=

_Jay Hayes's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037_

_It looks like she didn't leave me. Hell, it even looks like she committed suicide over me. I don't know how that makes me feel. But we were together a long time, it seems. We must have cared. It must have been the big L. As for Reed, I don't know where to start. Somewhere, she has a daughter with him. And then we marry the day he dies, but we take on his name and I adopt his daughter? What the hell happened?_

=/\=

_Malcolm Reed's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037_

_A daughter. I scarcely know what I would say to one. There's naught in that timeline about who's a decent father. And it was somewhere in the, the midst of her relationship with him. How odd. Was it some long-term affair? And why would he adopt my child? Was it consensual, somehow?_

=/\=

_Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037_

_I gotta see those logs. But I do know one thing. I was right about Jenny and Aidan. And Chang – good lord. I don't know if I can look at him normally anymore._

=/\=

_Franklin Thomas Todd's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037_

_Major Hayes and Lieutenant Reed said they want to talk to me about disciplining Chang and the others, and more harshly than I had planned. I don't know what's going on, but I bet there's something in that database about that. There's something they're not telling us._


	4. Arranging and Rearranging

Chapter 4 – Arranging and Rearranging

In the gym, Jay commanded the MACOs. "We're going to work on wind sprints. I want everyone going around the perimeter but then after a minute you're to give it all you've got and really run, flat out. Just go for it. But only do that for a minute, and then go back to regular running." He had a whistle around his neck. "It'll be on the sound of the whistle, all right? Now get ready; we'll do a little walking warm up first."

Chang made a face as he walked. "The Xindi aren't coming after us."

"Don't be so sure there aren't others out there," Hayes said, "There are all sorts of hostiles. We're still going through that database but I can assure you that the Delphic Expanse isn't exactly a safe neighborhood. Now let's get ready!"

=/\=

In Sick Bay, Phlox talked to Andrew Miller and Diana Jones. "It is going to become obvious that I will be needing some help," he said, "There are going to be children born on board."

"I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies," Diana said, and then she giggled nervously. "That's a line from _Gone With the Wind_. I actually know the basics. But unless there's more than one being born in one day, well, what would you need us for?"

Phlox sighed. "It's partly for that, but also for research. I don't know much yet, but there is going to be a great deal of needed research."

"It's those Ikaarans," Andy concluded, "I didn't marry one, apparently, so I don't have the facts on that."

"Well I do," Diana said, "I had a girlfriend, it turns out. And she didn't even make it to forty-three."

"Precisely," Phlox said, "they suffer from something that, in the records, is simply referred to as _the decline_. I do not have much more information on it."

"But if we cure it, won't we be messing with the timeline too much?" Andy asked. "Uh, sorry, Diana, but if a billion Ikaarans suddenly live twenty more years, won't that overwhelm their economy, or something?"

"Evidently, I agreed to work on it at all because of limitations," Phlox said, "and I will only work on this disease under the same circumstances. For example, if the ship meets a group of Ikaaran women, the captain believes that having a treatment for _the decline_ might convince them to join us. I am not so certain I wish to use it as a bargaining chip. However, I can understand the captain's motivation in that area. After all, he is one of the men who took up with an Ikaaran. Since we cannot meet the same people, he will need to hope that lightning strikes twice – and so will a good twenty of the men."

"I have to have that hope, too," she said, resignedly, "c'mon, lightning."

=/\=

At the Tactical station, Malcolm conferred with Aidan and Karin. "Now, we'll need to go through the database and begin to piece together the strengths and weaknesses of all of the other species in the area. That's these Imvari, who we've already dealt with, Ikaarans, who are reportedly friendly, plus the Xindi, of course. I imagine we could run into them."

"Right," Aidan agreed, "plus who knows who else is out here. There's gotta be others. Maybe those Kovaalans are around here now."

"Or maybe even some of the other species we've been in contact with, like Klingons," Karin offered.

"Precisely," Malcolm agreed, "therefore we will need to be as well-informed as possible. We'll go over the database in shifts. Each of us will run one of the shifts, all right?"

"Me, sir?" she asked.

"Yes," he smiled a little, "I have confidence in you, Crewman Bernstein."

"Well, thank you, but I gotta wonder if some of that is related to what's in that database."

"A little, truth be told. You turned out rather favorably."

"I hope I can live up to the hype."

"I'm certain you can. Now, Aidan, you'll take Stephanie Ayers and Lucas Donnelly. Karin, you'll have Tara Balcescu and Ethan Shapiro. I'll take Victoria Dietrich, Cecily Romano and Bree Tanner," Malcolm offered, "As always, Aidan has the night, you, Karin, will have second shift, and I've got days. But to work on the database, it'll be for four hours after shift. I realize it's extra work, and I apologize in advance for that. But I think you'll agree that this is truly necessary."

"Of course," Karin agreed, "we'll do whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes," echoed Aidan.

=/\=

At Communications, Hoshi made a call. "Yes, Maryam? Can you come up here? Can you be spared?" She glanced over at Travis.

"Uh, sure," he said, getting back to piloting.

Maryam agreed to come up and Hoshi cut the connection. "I wonder what to do with Sandra," Hoshi said, "seeing as Maryam apparently gets into Communications."

"Maybe Sandra gets the, uh, night shift," Travis speculated.

The doors swished open and it was Maryam Haroun. Nervous about being on the Bridge, she adjusted her hijab, the Muslim head scarf she always wore. "You wished to see me?" she asked Hoshi.

"Yeah," Hoshi said, "we, uh, in the database, well, apparently you moved from Navigation to Communications. And you did well enough that you were promoted and even got a medal."

"Truly?" Maryam asked.

"No lie," Hoshi confirmed, "So what do you say about switching over? Travis and I agreed, there isn't going to be a lot of navigating beyond more or less staying in the Expanse and avoiding being seen by the other _NX-01_."

"I need to pray five times per day," Maryam explained, "can that be arranged? I imagine I would be most free during second shift."

"I'll check the database," Hoshi said, "I get the feeling someone took nights."

=/\=

In Food Service, Will had Craig Willets in. "And the job is straightforward. It appears that a lot of programming was done on the replicators. I suspect most of that is intact, but we may need more. Plus we'll need maintenance work on the replicators."

"Understood," Craig said. He was slight and young, a little cowed by the chef, who was a large man with a booming voice.

"Plus I need some help with serving and cleaning," Lili stated.

"O'Day, this guy is specialized. He's not gonna be wiping down tables."

"No, it's okay," Craig said, "I don't mind. I can help Ensign O'Day. I just need to be shown what to do."

"Okay," she smiled at him.

=/\=

In Engineering, Tripp spent time with his people. "We'll need to study that database. I need to know how this ship was maintained and kept in decent working order for over a century. I need to know who we traded with, and what we fixed or invented ourselves. Kelly, Torres and Rosen – you're all on that, okay? Rostov and Carter, I want you to keep the Transporter in the best shape possible. Figure out how to make it more reliable and faster. Reese and Brodsky, you're on the warp containment field. You're to make it as easy to keep stable as possible. Whatever redundancies and subroutines you need to build in, you do so. Porter, Shelton and Andreiou, you're on the shuttles. We need for 'em to last. Any questions?"

=/\=

In Stellar Cartography, Dave Constantine, Shari Jeffers and Ingrid Nyqvist looked at each other. "I suppose we should be working on something profound," he offered, "but I've got no idea what. Did you look at your logs?"

"Of course," Ingrid replied, "I, uh, I ended up with Mark Reilly in Security."

"I got Anthony Vittorio," Shari reported, "I guess cartography and security go hand in hand. What about you, Dave?"

"I got Frank Todd in the MACOs," he noted.

=/\=

As for Security, many of them stayed at their posts, on high alert. Night shift personnel like Chip Masterson and Azar Hamidi were, of course, asleep, as was Mark Reilly, who also worked nights. Second shift Security personnel were busy reading their logs, guys like Robert Slater and Billy Dane and Tristan Curtis. Curtis was unsure as to why his logs abruptly ended in 2039. There was no information in the logs about his crime, arrest, trial, conviction, punishment and escape. Malcolm, who was in charge of Security, was unsure of how to tell them all.

The same was true of the MACOs, for Daniel Chang and the others had not been told of their wrongs, either, even as Jay and Malcolm wracked their brains trying to determine the best course of action.

Wind sprints done, the MACOs were resting and cooling down in the gym. "That was good," Jay said. He was as winded as the rest of them. "Tiburón, man, you're always in first. Good job. Great finish at second, Hamboyan. Money, Kemper, good effort. Ryan, Moreno, great coming from behind. Todd, Cole, McKenzie, good start out of the gate. You might wanna save a little for later as you might need it. Azar, Hodgkins, Parsons, really excellent form. Brown, Forbes, Woods, I liked the follow-through. Ryan, how you feeling?"

"Better, sir," said Rex Ryan.

"Well, the red face is a warning, you know," Jay said, "don't want you fainting. Go to Sick Bay and have Phlox take a look, okay? And maybe do some extras and be sure to hydrate."

"Yes, sir," Rex said, departing for Sick Bay.

Jay looked at Chang. "I need for you to make an effort, Private."

"Why?" Chang asked testily.

"As you have been told, _Private_," Jay emphasized that last word rather sharply, "there are hostiles in the area. You may not know who they are, but I assure you that the chain of command is well aware of who is out there. And we will work to get ourselves better and better informed. I suggest you train, and train hard. 'Cause if we go on a mission, I am not waiting around for _you_."

"Sir?" Julie McKenzie asked, as Jay glared at Dan Chang.

"Uh, yeah?" Jay softened his demeanor a bit.

"There must be stuff in that database. Maybe there's something we could use."

"Tactical's working on it to start," Jay said, "and then we'll get a crack at it. Everybody wants a peek, but the truth is, we need to be in physical condition, all of us. So that's the priority right now. McKenzie, Money, Todd, I wanna see you all afterwards. Uh, Cole, too. Everyone else is dismissed."

They filed out. The four turned to look at him. "I do want to look at that database. But I don't wanna be distracted. This is why I'm holding off. But we will start by looking at anything we can get our hands on about the physical characteristics of all of the species the other ship encountered in the Expanse. Friendlies, hostiles, I don't care. Individuals can differ – we all know this. We also need to do sharpshooting drills. Money, you'll be point on that."

"Yes, sir," she said.

"Todd, I need for you to keep an eye out."

"You think Chang will continue to be trouble, sir?" he asked.

"I, uh, I dunno," Jay admitted, "but this has gotta stop. I am all ears when it comes to discipline but also motivation. If Chang is the problem, then removing him may be enough to keep everyone going."

"Removing him?" Julie asked. "Where would he go?"

"I wish I knew," Jay sighed, "but there's gotta be jobs that will need filling. Some people are gonna shuffle around. I dunno if that would be the best solution. But I'm willing to consider it, particularly as I really don't need a locker room cancer right now."

=/\=

When Chris Harris came in to relieve him, Travis went to the Observation Lounge and asked his department to join him. Even the night shift people came in. "We've gotta look at that database," Travis said, "but our biggest concern is really gonna be keeping away from the other _NX-01_. Any ideas?"

Patti Socorro and Sophie Creighton shook their heads. Sterling Hutchinson said, "We should map out all of the really big planets and stars, maybe work with Cartography on that."

"Right," Bruce Chalfont said, "maybe we could do a lot of hiding."

"There's also," Cassandra Lester offered, "possibly hiding warp trails and such. We could work with Engineering on that."

Felicity Reese said, "Those spheres could also hide us."

"But then we've got other problems with the Xindi," Colleen Romanov reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. Hey, I'm just brainstorming here."

"No, that's good," Travis said, "every idea is a good one. We'll throw it all against the wall, and see if it sticks."

"Is Maryam leaving our department?" asked Sophie.

"I don't know," Travis admitted, "but there's a need in Communications right now. So maybe she will. I think we'll be all right without her. Let's keep thinking, okay?"

=/\=

T'Pol sent a note to her department about using the database. "_There will be many occasions for Crewman Miller and Crewman Jones to work in Sick Bay. Crewman Pike will undoubtedly be busy with growing crops. Therefore, Crewman Warren and Crewman Novakovich, I am counting on you to assist with interpreting the database as needed_. "

Nyota Warren wrote back, "_What will we be looking for_?"

The response was, "_At the present, the only certainty is medical usage. However, there may be a need for finding a suitable planet for agriculture. There are two planets in the area that are suitable, but the other NX-01 will claim them, so we will not interfere. Therefore, we will research the other available planets in the area and determine if any of them are at least marginally suitable_."

=/\=

_T'Pol's Personal Log, July sixteenth, 2037_

_News about my children's parentage is admittedly unsettling. However, news of as-yet unborn children is, perhaps, the chief cause of that. I am still uncertain as to whether Commander Tucker truly sired them. And I am equally uncertain as to how that makes me feel._

=/\=

_Maryam Haroun's Personal Log, July sixteenth, 2037_

_A new job! And I ended up with Azar Hamidi. Evidently, I asked Doctor Phlox to assist me in finding a suitable husband. From the records, it appears that he was as careful as my own father would have been, although he was also busy and, I think, at times, it was not his top priority. No matter. It appears to have been a good match. Perhaps we will speak of it soon._

=/\=

_William Slocum's Personal Log, July sixteenth, 2037_

_I married Patti Socorro. But it did not work out. Why didn't I try harder? I don't get it._

=/\=

_Chandrasekar Khan's Personal Log, July sixteenth, 2037_

_I suppose I should say more than three words to Hoshi if we are to marry again, like we did. How was I so fortunate as to win her?_


	5. Unpleasant Advance Information

Chapter 5 – Unpleasant Advance Information

A week had elapsed, and Jay had put Chang through about every test and trial he could think of. He even sent the guy over to do KP duty, which had been the original punishment on the other _NX-01_.

Chang finally confronted him. "What the hell are you doing, riding me so hard, Major?"

"You have a lot of potential, Private. I don't wanna see it wasted."

"There's something we aren't being told."

A slight flinch on Jay's part betrayed that. It was true. The executive staff had not shared the information about the crimes, punishments and everything in between. They still did not know what to do about all of that.

"Private," Jay finally said, "I will speak with the captain. Perhaps you can be reassigned. If you no longer wish to be a MACO, I'm sure some other provision could be made."

Chang left. Jay clicked on his PADD and punched up mail. He wrote to Captain Archer. "_Sir, I think we need another meeting ASAP. We need to determine what to say about the crimes. The crew, I feel, have a right to know_."

=/\=

There was a _ding_ on Will's PADD. "Looks like there's a lunch meeting of the executive board. O'Day, you'll be serving. Willets, you'll need to cover the overall crew."

Craig blanched. "I've never done that before."

"Here, it's easy. I'll help you," Lili offered, "I've got leftover soup and we can set out bread for sandwiches. We'll put out cheeses and meats. Keep them both on fairly high table tops so that a certain curious beagle doesn't get it in his head that you're only serving lunch to him."

"Got it," Craig confirmed, "And I guess mustard and mayo, too?"

"Ketchup, too, and hummus. There are people who like different things. And you'll need a vegan option, so take last night's leftover salad and make sure you've got pita in with the other breads. That should all work, okay?"

"Thanks, Lili. Uh, can I tell you something?"

"Sure," she started to slice loaves of bread to help him.

"I looked at my personal logs and, uh, I ended up with an Ikaaran."

"Oh, well, that's kinda mixed, I guess."

"Yeah, well, I also apparently liked you. For a pretty long time there. I think that had something to do with some graffiti I wrote. I know, pretty bad, huh? There are log entries that say I was an Ensign for a while, and then I got demoted because I wrote the graffiti outside your door. But it was only done because I liked you and I guess I wanted to grab your attention in a really big way," Craig said.

"Me? Craig, I'm old enough to be your mother."

"I know," he said, reddening, "but if you were as nice to me then as you're being right now, I can kinda see why I was interested."

"Oh, you're a sweetheart," she said, impulsively giving him a hug.

Will looked over. "C'mon, we gotta get the meals set up! The exec's not gonna want sandwiches. Let's get a quick meatloaf together, O'Day, and a tofu stir-fry for Commander T'Pol."

"Right away," Lili replied.

=/\=

Phlox was in Sick Bay at the last minute, almost ready to go to the executive level meeting, when the doors opened. It was Crewman Sandra Sloane. "Something I can do for you?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "I've looked through my personal logs. And, well, you know I don't suffer fools gladly, but I was really horrible to people. It was enough that you were treating me for depression for a while there, and then it stopped working and you really stopped because I ended up pregnant. Doctor, I was selling myself for cheap."

He nodded. "I have looked at your medical file. And you're correct about the depression. Some people become overly aggressive, and that can, at times, manifest itself as increased sexual activity. That also explains your overall waspishness."

"I'm sure," she said, "Look, I can tell I'm losing patience with people. And it seems like the only way that things were really kicked out last time was when I was doing heavy physical labor. I eventually was made the head of the farming unit on a planet called _Paradise_. My logs, it shows, I really enjoyed the work. I'm not so sure why I went there, but I did. I had been in Communications, like I am now, and then I transferred to Tactical. But that was a disaster. I was pretty horrible to Lieutenant Reed. And then eventually I got to do farming."

"I don't know all the particulars," stated the Denobulan, trying to avoid talking about the trial and all that it had entailed. But it was true – he certainly didn't know all of the details.

"Well, that's what it all says. But in any event, I'm going to suggest that I get involved in any sort of heavy physical labor, whenever we start doing that. I guess we can't have that Paradise planet, but we should be able to get another one, right?"

"I suppose."

"And the other thing is, the reason I'm here, Doc, is because I want you to start treating me for depression."

"It seems rather early, Crewman. You are not manifesting any sort of serious symptomology."

"I know," she confirmed, "but I don't want it to start."

His PADD _dinged_. "Ah, that's my reminder! I need to go to a meeting of the executive staff. Come back tomorrow, and we'll get started, all right?"

"Great," she said, "and thanks."

=/\=

The meeting, as many of their meetings were, was held in the Observation Lounge. Jonathan Archer didn't wait for anyone to finish eating before he began. "We need to get that trial information out there," he said, "The crew deserves to know."

"Right," Will stated, "but if I were one of the people involved, I'd like to know in advance."

"To be sure," T'Pol added, "the trial is a matter of public record, or it should be. However, the manner in which the information is disseminated – that part remains under our control."

"Maybe not," Shelby added, "I mean, we've all got our personal logs, right? A trial is a big, big deal. I can't imagine that nobody logged about it."

"That's true," Tripp agreed, "so we better act quick, 'cause that cat is probably already outta the bag."

"Then why don't we do this?" Malcolm asked. He put a hand over his teacup, preventing Lili from pouring him seconds. "We can inform each of the individuals involved, separately. Today, I suppose, would be preferable. And then release the information publicly."

"That's a good idea," said the captain, "and we can also start to think about what to do about this."

"If I may," Phlox interjected, "I received a visit from Crewman Sloane today. Now, medical privacy regulations prevent me from revealing the details about our conversation, but there may be some solutions that present themselves without our having to do too much about them."

"Are you saying that people will take it upon themselves to just fix things?" Travis asked.

"Well, maybe they will," Jay speculated, "I mean, look at all of us. We've got all sorts of things sitting in our logs. But it doesn't mean we have to do them again," he looked at Lili as he said that, "and we could also be jumping to conclusions about things. Maybe our crew will surprise us, and do the right things."

"There were an awful lot of MACOs involved," Malcolm said, "it would be best for you if they all up and did the right thing, eh?"

"Security isn't exactly innocent, either," Jay shot back.

"Enough," said the captain, "let's just focus on the matter at hand. We'll do it in shifts. First will be Sloane. Hoshi, you and I will talk to her. Then we'll work on Security, so Malcolm, you'll be here with me. And we'll talk to Curtis and Haynem, in whichever order is most convenient. Last will be the MACOs, Jay."

"What about Craig Willets?" Lili asked, "Er, sorry to interrupt, sir. He knows about the graffiti. He mentioned it to me himself. But I don't think it's really public knowledge yet."

"Right," said the captain, "then I'll talk to Willets first. So you'll both be in on that – Will and Tripp. Then Sloane, then Security, and then the MACOs. Hoshi, contact Crewman Willets. Everyone else should be on call as needed."

"What about that riot?" Shelby asked.

"No one went on trial, and the punishments were minor," T'Pol stated, "perhaps the crew could be generally informed of the incident."

"Tomorrow, then," said the captain. "Dismissed."

=/\=

Craig was about as nervous as he'd ever been. He walked into the Observation Lounge, seeing the captain there with his boss and his former boss. "I'm in big trouble," he concluded.

"No," Tripp said, "and we know ya already know about this."

"It's the graffiti," Will explained, "we just wanted you to know that it will be a part of an announcement we'll be making tomorrow."

"We're going to explain to all about the most negative things we found in the database," said the captain, "and your graffiti was one of those things. But we also know that in the history of the other _NX-01_, you confessed, and you never did anything like that again."

"My personal logs mention something about a trial."

"We're gonna talk about that tomorrow, too," Tripp said, "but I think we're good here. Dismissed."

"Here, I'll walk you back to the galley," Will offered.

=/\=

Sandra stood in front of Captain Archer and Hoshi Sato. "Did you read my personal logs?" she asked.

"No," said the captain, "they are yours."

"Then why am I here?" Her tone was sharp and accusing, and she must have realized that, for the next sentence was dialed back several notches. "I mean, with all due respect, I wanna understand what's going on."

"Crewman Sloane," the captain stated, "ever since we initially opened up that database, we've known about some, well, there are plenty of negatives in it. It's not all weddings and births. There are disciplinary actions in it as well."

"But most of that's supposed to be confidential," she pointed out.

"Right," Hoshi stated, "but there was a trial. So of course that was a matter of public record. And we know of it being mentioned in at least one personal log. It's probably mentioned in most of them. The crew is going to begin to piece together what happened. We want to provide correct and complete information so that there isn't any wild speculation."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Sloane," the captain told her, "you were one of the accused. And you lost your case, as did all of them. You were sentenced to six months of hard farming labor on a planet called Paradise."

Sandra thought for a moment. "So that's why I went there in the first place. That also explains why there was a big block of missing log entries. It's beginning to make sense now. Captain," she asked, "I have an idea from my logs, but I wanna hear it from you – why was I put on trial?"

"We're still trying to figure out the precise extent of your involvement," admitted the captain, "but there was an assault on one of the female crewmen. It was organized via an anonymous PADD message. You didn't send the message – we figure the ringleader did that, and that's what was decided at the trial. But the ringleader learned how to do that from someone, and the evidence apparently pointed to you."

Sandra swallowed hard. "There are, uh, other things in my logs. How public are they gonna get?"

Jonathan looked her in the eye. "You were in the Brig for a while, and before that, you were confined to quarters. You also had a child out of wedlock although you later married the father, Daniel Chang. But you divorced after you returned from your sentence. All of that is going to be a matter of public record. As for the reasons why you were in the Brig and confined to quarters, some of that will be public."

"Your confinement in the Brig," said Hoshi, "was due to your participation in a riot. You weren't the only person who was reprimanded, but you were hit most severely because of the earlier offence, which had to do with actively gossiping and eroding morale."

"Anything else?" asked Sandra anxiously.

"We, uh, we know about the rest of it," said the captain, "because of Captain's logs and the like. But you were never actually disciplined for it. It was seen as something of a morale enhancer, in some ways. I looked over the exec meeting records myself. Our thoughts about it – about you, well, selling your favors for privileges, if you want to be coy about it – they were divided, as you might expect. The exec will not mention it outright. But it may be peripherally located within other data items, such as the trial records."

"Not to mention," Hoshi said, "it might be in people's personal logs. It's going to come out, sooner or later. Sandra, you will probably have to confront it eventually."

"Yeah," she said, "I can't believe I did it. I talked to Phlox today, yanno? And I've got a right to medical privacy, and all that jazz, but I want you to know that he said he thought it had been a byproduct of depression. And I can feel I'm getting low and depressed now, so I asked him to start treating me." She sighed. "I would rather not be dealing with this at all. Could, uh, could you mention it when you release the trial records? I don't love this, but I think at least it would be done, and fast, kinda like ripping a bandage off, really fast."

"We can do that," offered the captain, "Oh, and Sloane? Thank you for recognizing the issue and taking the steps."

"Captain, the last thing I want is for history to repeat itself."

=/\=

Next were Curtis and Haynem. Malcolm and Jonathan sat there as the two Security crewmen nervously stood. The trial was explained.

"The two of you had rather different roles in the assault," Malcolm explained, "Mister Haynem, your involvement was more peripheral. You never actually touched the crewman. Instead, you were a part of the premeditation. For the assault, the lights were put out, so as to deter detection of the assailants. You were the one to do that. As a result, you were tried and convicted as a co-conspirator, but you received the lightest sentence. It was a half a year of hard farming labor on a planet called Paradise."

"I guess I liked the farming, sir," said Brooks Haynem, "Far as I can tell, I volunteered for it after that, and I managed work crews there and on a planet called Amity."

"You seem to have successfully turned your life around," Archer observed, "Dismissed."

After Haynem had departed, the captain and Malcolm looked at Tristan Curtis. "I take it I didn't have such a great outcome," he said, "My personal logs end pretty abruptly, in early 2040. Was I executed?"

"No," the captain told him. He then explained that Curtis had served time on both Paradise and Amity, eventually escaping custody on Amity.

"That's like a desperation move," Curtis said.

"It gets worse," Malcolm added, "for you were captured and enslaved by Imvari. They evidently sold you to Orion slavers. I have to assume you performed physical labor and that it was, shall we say, unpleasant. In 2052, you were brought back, to act as the bait in a trap set to lure more of us and ensnare and enslave us."

"Was anybody else caught?" Curtis asked.

"Not on that occasion," Malcolm explained, "but four of us met our end that day, as did you."

"You, sir?" he asked. Malcolm nodded. "My God. I was really horrible to you. And for what reason? What could possibly have been the reason? It was foolish, when you get right down to it. Tell them, sirs, tell them all what happened. And I'll dedicate my life to assuring that it doesn't happen again."

=/\=

The next ones to be talked to were Victor Brown, Neil Kemper and Gary Hodgkins. This time, Jay sat with Jonathan and, again, they went over the fact that there had been a trial, and what it was all about.

"Where do we fit into all of that?" asked Hodgkins.

"You all had different roles," said the captain, "Let's start with you. You were apparently an assailant, but the only thing we know about that is what you said to Frank Todd while you were dying."

"I was what?"

"It was a mission – to rescue Ensign O'Day and me, truth be told," said Jay, "And you were injured and dying so you confessed to Todd before, uh, well, before."

"I see," Gary Hodgkins thought for a moment. "So all three of us attacked this woman?"

"Yes," said the captain, "along with a few others. She was forced into a waste recycling room and, in darkness, her uni was taken down and, well, I'm thinking I don't need to draw you a diagram."

"What kind of monsters did we become?" asked Neil Kemper. "And I read my personal logs. I got married to Emily Andreiou. And we never divorced. So she stood by me, but God only knows why. Sirs, how insane were we? How frenzied? Did we have no sense of morals whatsoever?"

"We can't answer that," said Jay, "but we do know that things were out of hand in a lot of ways. People didn't know what, heh, the future would bring. I suppose they lashed out, in one way or another. I wish I could tell you that you were patient and moral and upstanding and all of that."

"But we weren't," Victor Brown finished the sentence for him. "And I, too, I was married to Cassie Lester. She also stayed with me. I guess I owe it to her to see if we could somehow be together. To, to try to do it right this time, I guess."

"I don't love this getting out," said Neil, "but it's going to. You're right; it's going to turn into public knowledge, and soon."

"You don't come out of it too badly, none of you," the captain stated, "you're attackers but you work off your debt to, well, I guess it's a debt to society. You never do anything like this again. You learn your lesson and you move on. You live out your lives and you're trusted members of the crew."

"Except for me," sighed Gary, "but I guess I turned it for you. I'm guessing I was your first real lead."

"It suggests that," confirmed Jay.

"I'm thinking the other attackers, they might not have come out of it so good," Victor said, "and I guess you won't tell us that until the whole thing gets announced. Uh, when will it be announced?"

"Tomorrow," said the captain.

"So I'll be talking to Emily today," Neil said.

=/\=

For Daniel Chang, the last one to be told, the meeting was hostile and uncomfortable. As soon as he heard what it was about, he hollered, "So that's why you've been riding me! Captain, the Major's been treating me as if I did it again! And I didn't!"

"We know this, Private," the captain confirmed, attempting to maintain a veneer of calm. "But you must admit the way things are currently going is eerily paralleling how they went the last time around. The Major is, understandably, concerned. We do not want history to repeat itself."

"I get that," Chang seethed, "but it hasn't. So lay off me, Major!"

"Private," Jay asked, "do you have a problem with the chain of command?"

The question hung in the air for a moment. "Complaining won't do me any good. There's nowhere I can go, right?"

"Maybe there's something," said Jonathan, "Maybe you could work for Security instead. We could talk to Lieutenant Reed. Would it be better to work under him, and get a fresh start?"

"Lemme think about it."

=/\=

By the time the evening rolled around, Jonathan Archer was exhausted. He refused dinner and just stumbled into his quarters. His beagle, Porthos, followed. "Oh, yeah, I guess you want dinner," the captain said absently. The dog did not reply as Jonathan tore open a dry kibble packet and poured it into the dog's bowl. Setting it down, he then filled the water dish as well. "Tell ya what, Porthos," he said, "let's you and me have a nice, quiet evening together. I have plenty to worry about tomorrow, but tonight, let's just enjoy some quiet time."

The dog snuffled a little as he ate, and Jonathan lay down on his bed. Before less than a minute had gone by, he was asleep.

=/\=

_Daniel Chang's Personal Log, July twenty-third, 2037_

_They seem to think I'm a rapist. I don't know if I trust those logs and that database. But there is nothing I can do about it. No wonder I ended up with Sloane. There must've been nobody else left who was at all decent. _

=/\=

_Neil Kemper's Personal Log, July twenty-third, 2037_

_I talked to Emily today, and she was really nice. I mentioned what happened, and she said it was in her personal logs, so she already knew. But she was good about it, and I thanked her for not saying anything to anybody about it. _

_I never noticed her before. I should have._

=/\=

_Sandra Sloane's Personal Log, July twenty-third, 2037_

_It's going to come out, and soon. I got a chance to talk to Brooks Haynem quickly; he and I ended up together after I was originally with Dan Chang. The thing with Dan did not work out although we did have a daughter, Kimberly. Tomorrow is not gonna be fun._

=/\=

_Malcolm Reed's Personal Log, July twenty-third, 2037_

_I have received notification that Private Daniel Chang might wish to switch to Tactical. While I can always use a hand, and he is certainly more than bright enough, he is also, clearly, a problematic individual._

_This may be most unpleasant; I am attempting to not color my perceptions unfairly. But that much is rather difficult, knowing what happened._


	6. Information Exchanges

Chapter 6 – Information Exchanges

"All hands, this is the captain," announced Jonathan. "I think some of you have an idea of what I'm going to be talking about. Certainly the people who were directly involved know about this, and have probably been bracing themselves. But one of them said it was like tearing off a bandage quickly. I guess I'm about to do that."

He paused to collect himself. "We have been reviewing that database. And it's not all sunshine and roses. There were several occasions where various members of the crew misbehaved. Some were more serious than others. But they are a matter of public record, and we are quite certain that a lot of that information is lurking in various personal logs. Rather than make everyone piece everything together, we would like to tell you everything that happened. First, I'd like to start with Crewman Sloane."

He went on for a while, talking about her insubordination and then her part in the riot and, finally, her 'business'. "It was, I am certain, not something that Crewman Sloane was proud of at the time. I'm sure she feels pretty badly about it now. But I hope that the crew can be kind to her. These things can happen when people are depressed, and feel they are being pushed to their extreme limits."

=/\=

Sandra was in the Observation Lounge, listening with a lot of other people. Sophie Creighton put an arm on her shoulder. "You did some bad things, but I bet we all did," she said.

"Are we still friends?" Sandra asked nervously.

"Of course."

=/\=

The captain went on some more. "And now for the trial. This is an unpleasant chapter in the other _NX-01_'s history. But they shared it with us, warts and all. I'm sure that they felt we could learn something from it. They did not hold back. They did not censor the information, so far as I can tell. And they had no motivation to lie to us. If anything, they would have had a motivation to retract and redact a lot of this information. But they didn't. I have to believe that this information is correct and complete. And so I will tell you about the sexual assault that was perpetrated on Crewman Patti Socorro, and its aftermath."

=/\=

In Navigation, Patti sat with Felicity Reese. "It was in my personal logs," Patti said, "but that doesn't make it any easier to hear about it. I dunno if I can talk to those guys, or spend time with them, or anything."

"I'm not saying that you should give them all free passes and clean slates," Felicity said, "but maybe you can look at them individually, and make your best judgments. If you never wanna talk to any of them again, well, I get the feeling they're gonna understand that. But maybe listen to the information before making a final determination, okay?"

=/\=

When the captain finally finished talking about not only the trial but the eventual deaths of Chang, Curtis, Reed, Hamboyan, Harris and Ketchum during the attempt to retrieve Curtis and Chang, he paused. "I know how shocking all of this is. But I think we'd hardly have complete information if it was all positive. A lot of it was positive, you know. But this was not so much. We have a chance here, all of us. Our chance is to make it all better than it was. I can't say whether we will be able to get a planet or two for agriculture. I hope we can. I can't say whether we'll again be able to pick up Ikaaran women to become brides. I definitely have a vested interest in that. I can't say whether this ship will make it back to 2154, but I think we'll all give it the old college try. Together, we will all do what we can. I have faith in all of you – even in the people who I have some rather serious and disturbing records about. They, too, deserve chances and the ways and means of proving themselves. Let's get to our destination – 2154 – together, with as clean a slate as possible. Thank you."

=/\=

The group in the Observation Lounge began to disperse. "I wonder if we'll have mixers or things like that," said Sekar Khan, "for we are supposed to have a lot of weddings. But I am thinking that a bit of awkwardness could be averted if there were parties or the like."

"That's a good idea," said Colleen Romanov, "I wonder who we should talk to about that."

=/\=

On the Bridge, Hoshi had the same idea. "Sir," she said to Captain Archer, "my logs say that there was a Morale Committee, and I chaired it. It eventually went away – I guess after a while it wasn't needed, when people started pairing up. But I think it might be good to revisit that idea."

"Oh?"

"Specifically, I was thinking of a party or something. I mean, a lot of us are supposed to be paired up in some way or another. I bet everyone is trying to figure out some way to break the ice. God knows I am. A party could do that."

"Serving alcohol would be ill-advised," T'Pol cautioned.

"Agreed," said Hoshi, "I'm just thinking of, a little music, some nice food and a little time off for most people. That sort of thing – I mean, according to my logs, we were a ship where there were dances."

"Dances?" asked Malcolm, blanching. That was not a part of his skill set.

"Yeah," confirmed Hoshi, "I don't think anyone was necessarily that good. But people did it. I'm not saying we'll be exactly like that, or anything, but aren't we the same people? At least, for now?"

"At some point, there's a divergence," offered Travis, looking at his instruments as he changed course in order to duck behind a planet, "In fact, hasn't it already happened? Those people didn't have a database. But we do. We're already different from them."

"That is logical," said the Vulcan.

"Actually, uh, T'Pol? Can you join me in my Ready Room, please? Malcolm, take command."

"Certainly, sir," said the Tactical Officer.

Once the door to the Ready Room had closed, the captain noted, "Hoshi's right. But you are, too. I've got records that say that the first party didn't end so well."

"Oh?"

"It was a Mardi Gras party," he explained, "so there were costumes. And there was alcohol served. But then the ship had a slight engagement. I don't think it was dangerous, but we just weren't prepared."

"Perhaps a social gathering would be best advised if attendance were confined to just one shift."

"That's an idea," said the captain, "although we do know that a number of couples crossed shift lines. Jennifer Crossman is day shift; Aidan MacKenzie works the nights."

"Be that as it may," she said, "but who is to say that there will always be the same configurations?"

=/\=

After dinner, Lili sat in the galley as the sanitizer chugged away, cleaning that evening's dishes. The door swished open. She looked up. "Are you lost, Crewman?"

"No," he said. It was Brian Delacroix, who was in Security.

"Then what can I do for you?"

"My logs say that I worked in Food Service. You actually taught me to cook."

"I did?"

"You did," he said.

"Did you, uh, take over for me after, uh, after I died? I have some information but I admit I haven't read every single scrap of my logs."

"I didn't," he said, "It was your son. But I worked side by side with him after, uh, after you were gone. Every, uh, every log entry I had about it said that I loved working here in the galley."

"That's good. Have you talked to Lieutenant Reed? Maybe he can't spare you this time around."

Brian clicked open his communicator. "Delacroix to Reed."

"Yes?" Malcolm's voice was a little tinny in the communicator's speaker.

"I'm at the galley. Can I talk to you?"

"By all means. I shall be along directly. Reed out."

"Will Slocum should be here, too," Lili flipped open her communicator to call him.

She and Brian waited together, and she asked him, "Well, what would you want to learn first?"

"I dunno," he said, "maybe something easy."

"We could start with things like making a _chiffonade_."

"What's that?"

"It's when we cut herbs like basil or sometimes spinach or lettuce into long strips. It looks nice on the plate."

"Oh, cool."

The doors opened, and Lieutenant Reed and Will Slocum walked in. "Well, what's up, O'Day?" asked Will.

"Brian here has a request," Lili reported.

"I, uh, my logs say that I went to work in Food Service. And I think I'd like to. That is, if you can spare me, Lieutenant."

Malcolm thought for a moment. "Well, it appears that I can. I am most likely going to get Private Chang as one of my charges. The Major had asked if I would give that a try, but I didn't have the space. This could work out."

"I can always use the help here," Will opined, "So I guess you're hired, Del. Maybe start tomorrow, all right?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sirs," Brian departed.

"I'm outta here, too," Will shrugged, "with more of you, I'm thinking I won't be doing a lot of the cleanup. You all right with that, O'Day?"

"Sure," she replied. He, too, left.

Malcolm looked at her. "Is this going to mean more work for you?"

"In the beginning, probably, but I imagine it'll even out soon enough."

There was quiet and then a bell _dinged_. "Ah, that's the sanitizer," she got up.

He followed her over and helped her unload it. "I, uh, I was wondering if you and I could talk a bit."

"All right." She took a bowl out of the big machine.

"It seems we played a great deal of Scrabble. And I taught you how to play chess. You gave me some cooking lessons as well."

"I see."

"We had an interesting arrangement – you, me and him. Phlox probably wouldn't see it as too terribly unique. But it feels that way to me. Have you been reading about, that is to say, about us?"

"I have," Lili admitted, "but I also hit the pillow and I'm out these days. It doesn't mean I'm not curious, though."

"I can't say what your relationship with him was like. But you were wed and you were together for a good three decades. I have to believe you were content. As for you and I, I can only go by my own logs. And I shall tell you," he sighed a little, "I can tell how happy I was. It's like a tidal wave reading it. It's, it's overwhelming. I can feel the emotions; they're rising up from the PADD like, like heat waves."

"What are you saying?"

"Here, I'll read something to you, all right?"

"Um, okay." She had been putting bowls away and stopped. She sat down.

"All right." He cleared his throat and recited.

"_I will rise by your time_

_And watch you separate eggs_

_As diligently as an atom is split_

_And you will watch me shave_

_As the shift begins_

_And he will take your hand_

_As we pass from one day to the next_

_And I will miss you for four days_

_Yet even then_

_I will rise by your time_."

"That's lovely," she said.

"Lili, I wrote that poem for you. It was, God, it was perhaps a month before I passed."

She went slack-jawed. "I, I don't know what to say."

"I don't either," he admitted. "I have, I have no experience with this. But I am certain that; that this was written because of, of rather deep feelings."

"Yeah," she managed to squeak out. "Holy cow."

"I, I don't mean to unsettle you in any manner," he stammered, "I just wanted you to know." He left.

She sat there, dumbfounded, for a while. "What do I say to that? My God, what do I say? What do I do? And when it comes to Jay, what, what's supposed to happen there?"

=/\=

_Malcolm Reed's Personal Log, July twenty-fourth, 2037_

_I recited that poem for her. And I don't know whether it was a good idea or not. She is deeply affected. That much is obvious. I don't know how it makes me feel, in all honesty. It's as if I've got steps one and five and eighty-seven of a formula. And putting them all together is most difficult. Where do we begin? Or have I frightened her off? _

=/\=

_Jay Hayes's Personal Log, July twenty-fourth, 2037_

_I got a notification that Reed will accept Chang. So that's taken care of. We'll do more shuffling. I may end up getting Sloane as a new MACO. She came over and expressed an interest. I think that might work. _

_The revelations about her were terrible, but she seems to be taking it pretty well. I won't stand in the way of Sloane transferring over here, but I'll wait on Ensign Sato to give the go-ahead._

_As for other things, I read my logs and I find I'm reliving the emotions. It's a lot of later stuff, and it's very, well, it's loving. I am almost shocked. Me, a father? Me, a husband? I wonder who the hell that guy was. Then again, I bet Sloane wonders who that woman was, too. I'm not the only one who's unacquainted with the self, I suppose._

_But there are earlier log entries, and those make a lot more sense to me. I was obsessed with my ex, Susan Cheshire. She was in the forefront of my thoughts for months. I think I had to go through that process before I could be free to really care._

_And I think I need to go through that process again._

_I think about Susan again, about what happened and how it ended. And I know that there is absolutely nothing I can do about any of that now. That saddens me, for she didn't deserve me leaving her and really hurting her like that._

_I know I should be thinking about the here and now. I get that part. No one needs to remind me. But right now, my thoughts are far away. It's like my moods and my personality and my regrets and all of that all stayed in 2154, while the physical me took this funhouse ride to 2037._

_I know I should shake this, and concentrate on today. And that means Lili O'Day, really, when you get right down to it. But I don't know the first thing I'd say to her. Why does this have to be so goddamned difficult?_

=/\=

_Ethan Shapiro's Personal Log, July twenty-fourth, 2037_

_I have been reading my logs. And I know everyone else has, too. Mine are disturbing. I ended up with an Ikaaran, Bithara. And that's all well and good, but it turns out that, since I couldn't have Karin Bernstein, I tried to off myself. I was comatose; it was like I'd had a stroke. It was oxygen deprivation. I eventually got back the ability to speak but I never walked right after that. How could I have done such a thing?_

_And why? I like Karin – don't get me wrong – but as a sister and a friend. Why did I end up so in love with her that I despaired like that?_

=/\=

_José Torres's Personal Log, July twenty-fourth, 2037_

_If we never pick up Ikaaran women, I don't know what I'll do. Then again, there are a good twenty other guys who I bet are asking themselves that exact same question._


	7. Tentative First Steps

Chapter 7 – Tentative First Steps

It took a few weeks before they could get together the semblance of a party. There were plenty of other things to do – and T'Pol was insistent on looking for planets for agriculture – but Captain Archer wanted some of the shuffling of personnel to at least begin already. The tension was palpable. It was only a matter of time before couples would start to form, so his idea was to nudge them along.

The Observation Lounge was decorated for a beach party. There was no real sand, but a large metal disk – it was a replacement transporter pad, truth be told – was pressed into service. It was bolted to plastic side walls and the whole thing was made watertight. Then it was filled with water, thereby creating a small wading pool. Tripp and the remainder of Engineering worked on creating other reminders of the beach as well. They fashioned wire and tubing into what looked like palm trees and even islands.

Chip Masterson promised music. He gathered up every beach and summer tune he could find, even very old ones, and created a massive playlist for the festivities.

Lili, Craig, Brian and Will put together beach fare, including replicated chicken from a formula they had gotten from the database. They grilled it with a tomato-based barbecue sauce and hoped that it would pass muster with the rest of the crew.

It felt absurd to be holding a party in shifts, but it was the only way to truly have good coverage. The night shift went first. Security Crewman Deborah Haddon found herself talking to Chip as he adjusted the volume level and fretted over whether the music was just so. "I swear," she said to him, "it's worse than if you were trying to negotiate peace with the Klingons, or something."

"Heh," he smiled a little, "I just want it to be right. Uh, Deb, speaking of right, you do know that it was you and me, right?"

"Why do you think I'm talking to you?"

"Aha."

Ethan Shapiro found himself with Karin Bernstein, and it was very uncomfortable. "I guess I ended up with Josh," she ventured, referring to one of the two other Jewish men on board, Josh Rosen.

"Yeah, you did."

"Ethan, I know what else happened. To you, I mean. I don't know what to say."

"Nobody knows what to say anymore," he shrugged. "Rest assured, I won't do that. That isn't something that's gonna be on instant replay, or anything. I am not gonna attempt suicide over you. Not, uh, not again, that is. We're cool."

"Oh, uh, okay. Josh, huh, I wonder why not Andrew?" she said. Andrew Miller was standing nearby, with a plastic cupful of cola in his hands that he sipped on occasion as he looked around a bit furtively. Karin left Ethan's side and went over to talk to him. "You look lost."

"Oh, uh, Shelby isn't on the night shift."

"Oh," Karin said, the light dawning, "did she convert?"

"I guess so," he said, "you were with Josh. I, uh, heh, it's funny. I got good at helping out Doctor Phlox. I delivered your daughter."

"Amazing," she shook her head and walking away, feeling as if he had seen her naked.

Security Crewman Mark Reilly chatted with Pilot Sterling Hutchinson as Security Crewman Azar Hamidi and Tactical Ensign Aidan MacKenzie looked on. "So I ended up with Ingrid. And it was after a riot! I have no idea how, or even why, they'd be fighting over me. How weird is that?"

"I dunno, man," Sterling replied. "I got Christina Parsons from the MACOs. How'd I land a honey like her? And I barely talk to her. What gives?"

Josh Rosen came in and made a beeline for Karin. "Sorry I'm late," he said, "Tucker and I got to talking about how to maintain the field better. Did I miss anything?"

"Oh, just a boatload of awkwardness," she replied. "You and me, eh?"

"Yeah, you and me, Angel."

She smiled a little at that. "I don't have a clue as to how to get it all started."

"I do," he said, "but you'll need to follow me over, uh, here." He walked a lot closer to the viewing window.

"And what's so special about right over here?" Karin asked.

"It's where I'm gonna kiss you for the first time."

"In front of all these people?"

"Would someplace else be better?"

"Well, yeah," she said, "and I think Bree's on duty."

"Your roommate?" She nodded. "You ready to take me to your quarters?" he asked, a little anxious.

"Yeah," she said, "look, Josh, I don't normally move this fast. But I know we work out. So, um, whaddaya say?"

"I say this party is lame. No offense to Masterson. Let's get outta Dodge."

As they left, Ethan turned to Andy and said, "No time like the present, eh?"

"I guess not," Andrew replied. "I can barely think up what to say to Shelby that isn't work-related."

"You'll think of something, man."

=/\=

When the second shift arrived for their own version of the party, similar scenes played out. Pilot Chris Harris sat by himself. He wasn't interested in anyone, male or female.

José Torres came in from Engineering, and Lucas Donnelly from Tactical. They stood, awkwardly, looking at the passing parade. Maryam Haroun came in, and so did Ramih Azar. He got her a cola and looked at her. "It appears you chose Azar Hamidi over me," he said.

"I read my logs," she replied, tugging nervously on her hijab. "I had asked Doctor Phlox to assist me with the decision. At _home_," she paused a little. The word made her choke up a bit, as it did to all of them, "well, at home my parents would choose. It appears I treated the doctor a bit like my own father."

"I am certain he did the right thing for you," replied Ramih. "My wife was Nanette Myers. She converted to Islam and we dated. Or perhaps we dated a bit first. It is somewhat unclear."

"And our children married each other," Maryam looked down, "It is so strange to speak of those who have not yet been conceived."

"I believe Phlox made the best possible choice for you," said Ramih, "and so I will not push it and try for you. Is that all right? Or would you prefer it if I were to go after you, and court you?"

She blanched. "Uh, no, no thank you. It seems best for me to go with Azar, and for you to be with, with Nanette." She got out of there as quickly as possible.

Lucas looked up when Navigator Preston Jennings entered the room. He came over. "Second verse, same as the first?" he asked.

"You mean you and me? Uh, I was thinking about Todd."

"And I was thinking about Constantine," Lucas admitted, "but here we are."

"Yeah, here we are, I guess." They left together as about half of the MACO contingent looked on.

=/\=

By the time the day shift got their crack at the party, the music on Chip's playlist had completely veered away from contemporary music. Instead, it was older tunes, such as Jan and Dean.

There were whistles and heads turning when a lot of the women showed up. It was a beach party, and they seemed to be the only people into it. Hence a lot of them were attired in Starfleet regulation swimwear.

Not everyone approached the person they had ended up with. Hoshi was approached by Brooks Haynem, Eddie Hamboyan and Ethan Novakovich, but she politely waved them off and they retreated respectfully. Dan Chang came closer and took her arm. "Yanno what they say," he said.

She glared at him. He dropped her arm. "There are ten o'clock girls, midnight girls, two o'clock girls and four o'clock girls. Ya wanna know the difference?"

Hoshi remained impassive, standing there in a swimsuit, fuming at his audacity. The physical contact and the ensuant conversation were not by her invitation.

"Y'see," he said, "Ten o'clock girls are super-hot. The hottest of the hot, know what I'm sayin'? They get scooped up first. Then at midnight, the second tier gets picked up. That's chicks like Haddon. Then at two AM, er, oh two hundred hours, dontcha know, the third tier gets grabbed. That's, like, Tanner and Creighton and those. And then all that's left are the four o'clock girls. If they get picked up at all, it's only then, after everyone else is taken, and a guy wants something better than his own hand, do ya know what I'm sayin'?"

Hoshi turned away, but Dan got right back in her face. "O'Day and Money and Socorro – they are all totally four o'clock girls. And those Ikaarans? I saw their pictures, some of 'em. And even the captain's wife was no better than maybe two o'clock."

"Is there some reason why you're telling me this?" she asked sharply.

"I am telling you this because you, Sweetheart, are a ten o'clock girl. You know, twenty hundred hours, baby! Never mind what the real time is. I'm just sayin' you got it goin' on. And you got a chance to go home with _me_."

"I don't think so."

"What? You're gonna let history just repeat itself, and decide it all for ya? Girl, you're fine, you're the pick of the litter! Only Crossman and T'Pol are even close, and I don't want no alien chick. And redheads are bitches."

She turned away again and he got right back in her face. He grabbed her arm again. "I am not finished talking to you, baby."

"_Leave me alone_."

Jay was standing in a corner, wondering why he was even there. He took in the exchange although he didn't hear most of it. He came over. "Take a hint, Chang, and take a hike."

"Or what, Major? You're not the boss of me anymore."

"I still outrank you, _Crewman_."

Lili and Craig were putting out more food. She jogged his elbow. "This might be about to get ugly."

The doors swished open, and the Quartermaster, Sekar Khan, arrived. He immediately went over to Hoshi and bowed. "I was wondering if you would do me the honor."

It was a Beach Boys song, a fairly slow number – _Surfer Girl_. She blinked twice. "I, uh, I thought you'd never ask." She took his hand and, despite the fact that neither of them was very good, they started to dance.

Others joined in – Susie Money and Mario Lattimer, Judy Kelly and Michael Rostov, and Mara Brodsky and Walter Woods, for starters. Chang and Hayes found themselves stranded in the middle of the impromptu dance floor.

Hayes walked over to where Lili and Craig were. "That guy's trouble," Craig said, referring to Dan.

"Yeah," said Jay. He looked at Lili. "Tell me if he ever bothers you, all right? And, uh, he was totally outta line. What he said about you – it was unnecessarily cruel."

"It's okay," Lili gritted her teeth, "I didn't choose him last time, and I sure as hell wouldn't choose him this time, either."

"But it's not just that," Jay agreed, "it's also that it was so downright mean. And it was wrong, too. You're not just some, some piece of meat to be graded by a government inspector or something."

Craig went into the back to get more clean plates. Lili looked at Jay. "I wonder if this is at all like how we, you know, got started."

"I, uh, I dunno," Jay said, as the door swished open and the captain and Lieutenant Reed arrived. "My head isn't there. I've, uh, I gotta get over someone."

"Oh. I'm sorry," she said, "I shouldn't have assumed you'd be receptive."

"It is, it is not you," Jay stated, "It's me. I, well, right now I just feel kinda damaged."

The doors opened up again, and Lili's roommate, Jenny Crossman, arrived. She, too, was wearing a swimsuit, but she'd cut the midriff out of it, so it was a two-piece. There were more whistles, and Chang went over to her.

Malcolm came over to where Lili and Jay were. "And the dance begins, eh? And I don't mean the one set to music."

"I should tell ya, Reed," Jay muttered, "Chang has been acting like an ass."

"I don't believe we have a regulation against that, specifically," Malcolm quipped.

"No, Malcolm," Lili disagreed, "he was really nasty." Just then, Jennifer slapped Dan. Turning on her heel, she left quickly. Lili added, "I'd better see if she's okay."

She hustled out to follow the beautiful redhead. "Jenny!" Lili called. "Wait up!"

Jenny slowed down. "Don't ask me to go back there."

"I won't, don't worry," Lili stated, "He was mean, eh?"

"He said something terrible about you and Patti Socorro. I won't repeat it."

"He said probably the same thing to Hoshi."

"God, he's awful," Jennifer made a face, "I never really talked to him before. He was just one of the MACOs, yanno? But, man oh man! It's like we got knocked back here and, and, God, I think some people get it in their heads to just start acting like animals."

There were footsteps coming down the hallway. It was Malcolm. "Ensign Crossman," he said, "Major Hayes informed me that Crewman Chang was not only rude to you. He was also rude to Ensign Sato. Private Todd has been called, and he will bring Chang to his quarters and will confine him there for a day."

"Thank you, sir," Jenny was still a bit shaky. "I never want to have to talk to him again."

"I'll wager that Ensign Sato has a similar preference. I can, uh; I can switch him with Crewman Azar Hamidi. Chang could work the night shift."

"I don't want to make you shuffle everyone around just for me," said Jenny.

"He also insulted Ensign O'Day, Crewman Socorro and Private Money. Plus, Mister Hamidi would, I am certain, prefer the days or perhaps second shift. I shall think of something."

"Thanks again." Jenny departed.

Lili looked at Malcolm. "That was really nice of you."

"I don't want him insulting you, either, you know. I know that he was chosen for this mission for a reason. But perhaps that reason is diminished if not absent altogether now. And right now he's just behaving like a braying ass."

As if on cue, Private Todd came by. "I guess our friend hasn't had enough of punishments, eh?" he said as he walked by.

"Are you returning to the festivities?" Malcolm asked Lili.

"I've gotta work so, yeah. Poor Craig can't handle everything on his own."

"May I say something?"

"Sure," she allowed.

"The moment I learned that he had insulted you," Malcolm stated, "I felt as if he had struck me as well. Does that, is that plausible?"

"Sure it is," she nodded. They returned to the party as Todd escorted Chang out.

=/\=

In a corner, Eddie Hamboyan and Brian Delacroix were talking. "I drew an Ikaaran card. What about you?" Eddie asked.

"Me, too," said Brian, "I wonder what we'll do now."

"Damned if I know," Eddie answered.

Brooks Haynem went over to Sandra Sloane. "Nice suit," he said to her.

"Uh, thanks. I kinda pieced things together from my logs. I think we hooked up while we were serving our sentences on that Paradise planet," she said.

"That sounds right. I just want you to know, I mean, it's kinda shocking the stuff from, from before. But we both did shocking things."

"Yours weren't as bad as mine," she pointed out.

"Be that as it may," he said, "I just want you to know, I won't hold it against you."

"You really mean that?" she was skeptical.

"I do," Brooks offered, "if ya wanna make a go of it, I, uh, I'd like to, Sandra."

=/\=

_Karin Bernstein's Personal Log, August twelfth, 2037_

_It's not like home, I'll tell ya._

_Josh is; he's okay. I do like him. I like all three of them. I still have no idea why I didn't try for Miller first. Who knows?_

_As for Ethan, he ended up with an Ikaaran woman, it seems. And now that might not ever happen. I don't want to hurt him – I don't want anyone to be hurt – but I figure that there are a good twenty or so guys who are going to be caught with the short end of the stick._

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, August twelfth, 2037_

_The party was more or less what I expected. I watched as people got together, or didn't. There are couples who crossed shift lines, like Andrew Miller and Shelby Pike, and Azar Hamidi and Maryam Haroun. They obviously didn't have their chances tonight._

_But it was, overall, a decent turnout and it served its purpose._

_I have read my older logs, and I held back then. And now, I feel even more compelled to step back. I cannot stand in the way of what happens to many of these people._

_Not everyone works out. Not everyone is happy. As we all read more and more, not only of our own logs, but also of public records and duty rosters and even replicator files, I figure that people will get clearer pictures of what truly happened._

_I was happy with that Ikaaran woman, Ebrona. And now I'll never meet her. It doesn't really make me feel empty or saddened, as the logs seem so distant and so not me that I cannot figure out who the guy writing them really was. They have my name on them but they might as well be José Torres's logs and not mine._

_I wonder if others who had Ikaaran brides feel similarly._

=/\=

_T'Pol's Personal Log, August twelfth, 2037_

_The festivities were accomplished as planned. The crew's three shifts evidently enjoyed themselves._

_As for Commander Tucker, he has held back. Perhaps that is for the best._

=/\=

_Daniel Chang's Personal Log, August twelfth, 2037_

_I'm going after T'Pol next. Alien or no, I am not going through this without a hottie to bang._


	8. In the Semi-Darkness, There is a Light

Chapter 8 – In the Semi-Darkness, There is a Light

Deep within the Delphic Expanse, there was a region with an enormous number of spatial anomalies.

The existence of spatial distortions was nothing new. All of the versions of the _NX-01_ had encountered them. They pushed and pulled at the ship, its cargo, and even its crew if you were unlucky enough to come into intimate contact with one.

However, this particular anomaly field was different.

The anomalies existed due to the placement of gravimetric spheres within the Expanse. However, in this particular region, the creation of a sphere had somehow failed. Abandoned, the half-built sphere's very existence still created spatial distortions and pockets of space where a vessel as large as a starship could hide.

And, within one of these pockets of hidden space, there was a planet. As planets go, it shouldn't have been much. It was small, it did not have a moon, and it should not have had either water or an atmosphere. However, the presence of the nearby failed sphere kicked up excessive amounts of chi spectrum radiation. This radiation had the effect of adding enough heat, light and gravity so that the planet could possess gifts that were far more impressive that it should, by all rights, have had.

On its surface, there was water. And there was rocky land, too. Light on that world was dappled and mottled. There was neither a true day nor was there a true night. It remained in twilit limbo.

And on its surface, there was activity.

A cannibalized wreck was the most prominent feature on the landscape. It provided shelter for a curious detachment of souls.

The inhabitants – Ikaarans – were not native to the little world. And they did not intend to stay. But there was little they could do.

They had crashed perhaps an Earth year earlier, although they knew nothing about Earth. They had sent out a distress call, but it seemed obvious that the message had never reached its intended destination. Perhaps it had never reached _any_ destination.

Their mission had been one of farming, so they were uniquely suited to having a go at finishing the unwitting terraforming work that the presence of the uncompleted sphere had started. Industrious, thrifty and hard-working, they did their level best to make the planet feel like home.

There were fewer than ten of them still living. Eight mounds silently attested to just how difficult the first winter had been.

_Winter_. It was an absurd name for a world that had no seasons. A better name would have been _time before the harvest_. But winter was a descriptive enough appellation.

They were all female, save one. He was older, and had been originally brought on board to be their captain and chaperone. To the women, he was ancient, yet he was scarcely forty-five. Notch-nosed and dark-haired like the rest of them, he spoke, "What is our status?" he inquired.

"Verinold," said a raven-haired woman, her tongue clicking and popping as she spoke their language, "We have enough food for thirty-seven days. The first of the olowa trees will not begin to fruit for at least forty-one days."

"We will consume three-quarter rations, then, Esilia," he said to her.

"Lemnestra, do you have a report?" Esilia asked a shorter woman nearby – the Science Officer.

"I do," she said, "our water supplies are holding steady, despite needing to water our crops. We have enough water to last us until long after the olowa trees have all fruited, and the tofflin begins to send out new shoots. The water recycling unit is operating at maximum efficiency. Dakiza has done well."

"That is excellent news," said Verinold, "Dakiza?"

"I cannot tell if the makeshift transceiver is operational. Izquilla and I have been sending a new distress call, but we cannot tell whether it is being heard by anyone."

"That may be for the best, as I doubt there is anyone out here but Imvari slaver ships," he said.

"Would it be so much worse if they were to capture us?" Lemnestra asked. "At least they would feed us." She waved a tired hand at the others. Everyone was gaunt.

"They will work you to death," warned Verinold.

"Does not the same fate await us here?" Lemnestra persisted.

"I would rather work myself to death here, where at least I can be free," Esilia declared. "The end may be the same, but the pathway at least is different."

"That may not matter so much when we become hungrier, and need to bury more of our own." Lemnestra said.

=/\=

On the _Enterprise_, Jonathan Archer sat in the command chair on the Bridge. "What's the news on finding better hiding places?" he asked Travis.

"I don't love this solution," admitted Travis Mayweather, "but we may need to start thinking about hiding in anomaly fields."

"They could damage the ship, and repairs might prove difficult or impossible," explained T'Pol, looking up from the Science station. "Are you certain that this is the best course of action?"

"Well, I'm running out of options," Travis stated. "That gas giant is good for when the other _NX-01_ is in the Paradise system, but they go right through there whenever they head to Amity. And then there's a star cluster formation, but it's pretty close to the thermobaric clouds. Talk about damaging the ship."

"Let's make this a priority," the captain commanded, "take every available resource you need. I don't want just one or two possible hiding places – I want us to have at least a dozen options." T'Pol nodded. The captain continued, "And another thing – the other _NX-01_ farmed on those two planets. We can probably take a small share from each of them and make it look like weather damage, but I don't wanna be counting on that. We're going to need our own planet."

"Records indicate," T'Pol stated, "that there are few unclaimed worlds in this sector. We cannot wait for terraforming. And we should not encroach on a planet that has already been claimed by another power."

"Remember that Osaarian pirate?" Jonathan asked. "If we get desperate – if people start to really starve – we might find that our morals begin to become, let's just say, a little looser."

"Sir," Hoshi interjected, "there's also the matter of taking from the other _NX-01_'s stores. Not only don't we want to be seen, we also don't want them to starve and become desperate, either."

"Plus Chang and Curtis would be on that Amity planet," Travis pointed out, "who's to say what they would see? They'd have no qualms about spilling the beans and telling the older _NX-01_ about us."

"The crew also needs a purpose," T'Pol stated. "That was a part of the cause of some of the earlier bad behavior in the other version. The crew was simply unfocused. Locating hiding places and embracing agriculture should provide adequate work for all."

"There's always piracy," the captain joked. A raised Vulcan eyebrow was the only proffered response.

=/\=

In Sick Bay, Sandra Sloane sat on a stool as Doctor Phlox put together an injection. Nearby, a bat squealed in its cage. "Have the shots been working, do you think?" he inquired.

"I think so," she said, "And Brooks has been a lifesaver. I'm beginning to really appreciate him."

"That's wonderful," said the Denobulan. "Now, just a moment." He injected the side of her neck. "We're all done." He smiled at her with his overly wide Denobulan grin.

"Doc, can we talk a bit?"

"By all means. What's on your mind, Crewman?"

"I've been reading my old logs. And what I said about people was really bad."

"You were depressed."

"I was _horrible_," Sandra confessed, "it's like my whole world view was completely skewed. I felt like I was superior to all of the women on board, it seems. And then I sold my own body like a cheap hooker."

"Crewman –"

"Doctor, I did it for a better spot on the chow line. I did it so that I could change shifts. I did it for a saved seat at an Observation Lounge concert, a dusting of my quarters and a laundered uni. Hell, I even did it for a ripe peach!"

"Depression is a powerful malady."

"I don't dispute that, Doc. I am living proof of that. But it's the things I said about people in my logs, too. I called people all sorts of vile names. I manipulated Sophie Creighton into taking care of my own daughter because I was too self-absorbed to do so. I humiliated Lieutenant Reed – and he was my boss at the time."

That confirmed something Phlox had read in his records about Reed being overly cautious with the women on the ship. "I see," he said after a pause.

"When I was growing up," Sandra said, "I was shunted back and forth while my folks got a divorce. This was, I was eight or so. My mother got herself a boyfriend really fast. And that new fellow, he was, let's just say, he was an _influence_."

"How so?"

She paused to take a breath. "He had just about every prejudice you can think of. He was anti-alien, anti-Muslim, anti-Asian, anti-Semitic, and anti-gay."

"Oh."

"I didn't know any better then. I used to repeat what he said. I idolized him, 'cause he stuck around whereas it was my own father who had left. To my mind, my stepfather was just the most amazing thing."

"Children can be _very_ influenced by adults."

"Right. And Mom and I both wanted to distance ourselves from Dad. It wasn't until High School that I started to realize it was all wrong. My mother, too – the bloom was definitely off the rose for her by then, too."

"And so you were able to change yourself."

"Exactly," Sandra said, "and I can see, in my logs, that I slid right back into it. Frankly, I'm surprised that I got such a light sentence after that trial."

"Crewman, do you ever think that you should be behaving that way now?"

"Of course not."

"Then I'd say the injections are working very well eh?" asked the Denobulan.

=/\=

T'Pol left lunch early in order to visit Engineering to discuss the matter of attempting to camouflage their warp trail. She had finished and was returning to the Bridge when she heard footfalls behind her. Her Vulcan hearing was acute, so she was able to pick out that it was a man of average height, so it was not someone very tall like Major Hayes or Crewman Torres, nor was it a shorter man like Lieutenant Reed, Crewman Delacroix or Crewman Willets. The tread was somewhat light as well; hence it was neither Chef Slocum nor Crewman Haynem. She turned slightly.

It was Crewman Chang. "Hey, baby," he said, "I've got some time in between, y'know, things. And I've got this problem with my neck." He rubbed his own neck a little. "I was wondering if you could help me with a little neuropressure."

"You should speak with Doctor Phlox about obtaining an analgesic injection," T'Pol advised, turning to leave. Chang made no move to leave. The Vulcan exterior was calm. "Mister Chang, are you ill?"

"Never felt better." He came closer. "Look, we all know you did it with Tucker last time. And it's pretty obvious you're less than thrilled at repeating history. So how's about trying something new?" He came even closer and she backed up a step. "It's not a _little_ something new, if yanno what I mean."

"You are out of line, Crewman," she said, "the Starfleet Manual is rather clear on the matter of sexual harassment."

"In case ya hadn't noticed, babe, the Manual's out the window."

"I will report you to your superior officer."

"_Reed_? He's too busy trying to figure out why he ended up with that dog of a waitress," Dan said, smirking, "'Course she's probably just a beard. You _do_ know what I mean by that, _don't_ you?"

"A cover for homosexuality," T'Pol stated, "however, Crewman," she leveled her gaze at him as a door swished open, "Often those who are overly concerned about others' sexuality – or who see homosexual activity when there isn't necessarily any – those persons tend to be closeted themselves."

He grabbed her arm roughly. "You get in my quarters and you'll know I'm anything but some closeted faggot."

"Hey! Hey! _Hey_!" yelled Tripp, running down the hall. "What the hell's goin' on around here?"

"We were just having a discussion," Chang said.

"The Crewman was just leaving," T'Pol added, glaring at Dan.

"Crewman," Tripp said, "I bet Lieutenant Reed's got somethin' for ya to do. And if he doesn't, I'm sure I can give him a buncha suggestions."

"I'm not on duty," Chang said smugly, "I'm on the night shift now."

"Then your only logical activity right now would be sleeping," T'Pol stated.

Chang glared at them both. "Empty beds are cold."

"Cry me a river. Excuse me if I don't feel too sorry for ya," Tripp retorted, "Now get back to your bunk."

Dan looked back at them once before departing. Tripp said, "Did he really bother you?"

"I am unharmed."

"So he _did_ bother you. T'Pol, you gotta tell the captain and Malcolm. Last time, things got outta hand because people didn't say anything. It all festered, and then it ended up escalating until he and some other guys committed actual crimes."

"Mister Chang is still a vital member of this crew," T'Pol explained, "as is everyone else. An effort needs to be made, to not single out Chang and automatically condemn every single one of his actions."

Tripp shook his head. "Will ya listen to yourself? That guy is a rapist. He is gonna do it again."

"No," she said, "conditions differ. While his behaviors may be distasteful, they are hardly criminal. And continually seeing the most negative aspects of his behavior provides little to no incentive to reform. Chang acts out, and does not improve, for he has come to the conclusion that there's little point in it."

"I don't like you bein' alone with him, T'Pol."

She thought for a moment. "Your concern is appreciated. However, it appears unwarranted."

"If you change your mind, you'll tell me, right?"

"On the contrary – I shall inform the captain and Lieutenant Reed, as you had originally suggested."

Exasperated, he threw up his hands and shook his head as he left.

=/\=

Once the day shift had finished, and dinner was just about ready, Malcolm heard a _ding_ on his PADD – a message. It was from Lili. "_Subject: Upcoming birthday celebration – make sure you have a good appetite for dinner on the second. I hope you like what I'm going to make for you_."

He smiled to himself, his face reddening just a touch. He tapped out his reply. "_Whatever you prepare will, I am certain, be utterly delectable_."

In the galley, as other bells _dinged_, signifying the readiness of replicated kosher-style brisket and the time to turn off the flame on the side dish of bulgur with onions and mushrooms, Lili also heard that there was a new message on her PADD.

She slyly checked – there were actually two messages. She read the one from Malcolm and smiled to herself. The other one was from Jay Hayes. It just said, "_Do you like the flick Chip picked out for this week's Movie Night? It's called 'The Great Escape'. Maybe I could meet you there if you're going_."

She composed her quick response. "_I'll be there_," and hit _send_ before Craig came in with the serving utensils for that evening's meal.

=/\=

On the planet, Esilia made up her mind. She walked to the other side of the small olowa orchard and beckoned one of her fellow castaways to join her. "We are in bad shape," she said to the other woman, "we are on lowered rations already, and Captain Verinold would take a quarter off the top so that we could stretch them out longer."

"There may not be an alternative."

"True, Kerna. But we are already stretched so thin, and nearly to the breaking point. And what if the olowa trees do not bear their fruits on time? The light here is not so good for photosynthesis, you know. We have already seen stunted growth and undersized fruits. What would make us believe that this harvest would somehow be a vast improvement over the last one?"

"All too true."

"We are losing any window of opportunity we may have left," Esilia replied.

"What would you have me do?" asked Kerna.

"I wish to take the shuttle," Esilia said, "and go and see if there is anyone out there. Perhaps at least a message could be sent."

"Perhaps," Kerna replied cautiously, "but the shuttle would be slow as it would be best for you to conserve fuel for the return journey."

"I cannot say whether there would be a return journey. And there is every possibility that the Imvari would capture me. It is a slow death here, or a slow death there. I do not wish to be a slave, but at least there is a chance to not be a slave."

"I see."

"I would need a pilot," Esilia said.

"Understood. We would need rations, though."

"Let us talk four days' worth for two people. And we will consume half every day, to stretch to eight days. This would provide the others with extras, a few more days if they are careful enough. It may be enough to tide them over to when the first of the olowa begin to ripen. And as for us, I hope that it will not mean our death in nine days or so."

"When shall we leave?"

"Early tomorrow morning, before the light is at its brightest."

"I will be ready," Kerna said.

=/\=

_Malcolm Reed's Personal Log, August thirtieth, 2037_

_A surprise menu for my birthday! How delightful. And this is, I imagine, how things will begin._

_I do hope that I like what I see under those chef's whites. Perhaps she'll just be a white-hot flame._

=/\=

_Jay Hayes's Personal Log, August thirtieth, 2037_

_I hope I see her at the movies. I know I need to get over Susan. That much remains clear. But in the meantime, I need to get out there and she is really the only person I should be seeing. Will anything happen? I don't know. And I'm not even so sure I want it to happen, but I'm also unsure that I would object too much. It's like she is the light. I want to get out of this darkness already._

=/\=

_Charles Tucker III's Personal Log, August thirtieth, 2037_

_I caught Chang bothering T'Pol. Why she doesn't do anything about it is beyond me. But I think it's more that she doesn't want me stepping in, than for any other reason. _

_God, don't tell me she's actually entertaining ending up with him._

_She's been indifferent to me ever since the kick back in time. I don't know how she's feeling. It's like she's a stranger to me._

=/\=

_Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, August thirtieth, 2037_

_Curiouser and curiouser! I guess I'm going to the movies this week. But first, a special dinner. _

_I wonder if this is how I ended up with both of them._


	9. For Every Action …

Chapter 9 – For Every Action …

It was early but, really, the only way that Esilia and Kerna could tell that was by looking at their wrist chronometers. They took their meager share of the food – dried strips of flattened olowa fruit and some baked tofflin paste that was a reasonable approximation of bread – and crept out to where the small Ikaaran shuttle was.

They had been preparing for perhaps five minutes when a voice said, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Izquilla," Kerna whispered, "lower your voice."

The young Communications Officer looked at her. "You mean to escape our wretched existence."

"We mean to get help, and bring it back," Esilia told her.

"Verinold said the Imvari are out there. You said so yourself that you did not wish to be captured by them," Izquilla reminded her.

"True, but perhaps there is someone else out there," Kerna said, "maybe we can get you out. Or maybe we can bring back provisions."

Izquilla stood there. "Or maybe you will never return."

"We will try to return," Esilia said, "and we will do all we can in order to do so. We have food for eight days, if we ration it wisely. We will go out for four days. If we have not found anything, we will turn back then, and will return. We will contact you when we can. Keep the channel open."

"Very well," Izquilla said, embracing each of them in turn, "Good fortune to you."

As they took off, Verinold stirred. "They are going, Lemnestra. I hope they can find a way, for I fear we are all doomed."

=/\=

On the _NX-01_, Lili and Craig sat with Chef Slocum. "It's Lieutenant Reed's birthday today," Will noted, "Forty-second, I think. We'll make him a pineapple upside-down cake like we always do."

"Actually," Lili stated, "according to my logs, I started making him a smoked pineapple tart, and he apparently really loved it."

Will looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"All right," he sighed, "but if he doesn't like it, I reserve the right to say '_I told you so'_."

"What about for the dinner?" Craig asked.

"Well, O'Day, you're the one who seems to have all the answers," Will's tone was a bit harsh, "So what are we making?"

Lili smiled a little, but inwardly she was in a bit of turmoil. Chef seemed to resent her inside knowledge. "We can make a Mexican spread, with grilled meats and vegetables. Let's slice up some avocadoes and whip up some fresh kiwi lime salsa, with a little shredded jack cheese and some sour cream on the side. Plus we'll have refried beans, chopped tomatoes and a little shredded lettuce with whole wheat tortillas."

"You know best," Will said defeatedly.

Craig got up to fiddle with the replicator. Lili went over to Will. "Are you angry with me?" she asked.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you, Chef. You're acting as if I'm encroaching on your turf."

"That's the only area where you don't get to lord it over me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"O'Day," he seemed to be trying to stay calm, "I read the logs, too. You got not just one, but two lovers, to," he let out a breath between his front teeth, "eat out of your hands, and answer to your beck and call. Do you know what happened to _me_?"

"I'm sure you'll tell me."

"I ended up with Socorro. I end up with a sexually dysfunctional rape victim. And we don't even stay together! We divorce. I never remarry; never even get a girlfriend for, for later. That's it. That's my one and only, lousy, shot."

"I'm not responsible for your choices."

"You're there, sitting on your high horse!" he accused. "You get your two shots and, and everything! You left me with _nothing_!"

Craig came back from working on the replicator. "I don't know what everybody's getting all hot under the collar about, anyway," he said, "'Cause I drew the Ikaaran card. And if I'm not mistaken, right now that means I get nobody. So don't talk to me, Chef, about how goddamned unfair and unhappy your life turned out to be."

He walked out. Lili followed him. "I'm sorry," she touched his arm, "maybe things will turn out differently. But, but, they'll turn out differently in a good way."

"Thanks." He had a dish towel in his hands, and he dabbed at his eyes with it.

=/\=

On the Bridge, Malcolm was at his station when he noticed something. "I'm getting a reading. It appears that there may be a ship in the area. I'm picking up an alloy on long-range sensors."

Jonathan looked up. "T'Pol?"

"I see it," she was peering into the scope at the Science station. "The alloy matches the Imvari readings we took. It further matches the information in the database."

"Hail them," the captain commanded Hoshi.

She tried a few different things. "No response."

"They're closer, Captain," reported Malcolm, "I suspect that we can get a visual now."

"On screen," commanded Jonathan.

The image of the ship emerged on the main viewing screen. The ship was somewhat streamlined, and had a central core. There were radiating arms, but they were retracted, possibly a requirement of traveling at warp speeds.

"According to the database," T'Pol stated, "the configuration matches that of an Imvari slaver ship."

"Polarize the hull plating," commanded the captain.

"Yes, sir," replied Malcolm, doing just that.

The Imvari ship turned, and there was a whining sound, piercing their ears. "It's a scan!" T'Pol yelled.

Just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. The Imvari ship turned and warped out of there.

"What the devil was that all about?" Malcolm asked the question for all of them.

=/\=

For the Imvari ship, there was little point in hanging around, for their mission was to gather up Ikaaran slaves. Once they had scanned the _Enterprise_, and determined that there were no Ikaarans on board, there was no reason to stay.

Instead, they filed the information away for later. They had not made first contact with humans, Vulcans or Denobulans, so the readings were a tad confusing, and needed to be parsed carefully. But that could wait, for a tiny shuttle had been detected. While there were only two Ikaaran life signs on board, and they were in a weakened condition, they were both female.

Females of any species tended to fetch higher prices, for breeding and for other services. Plus the configuration and size of the females' ship meant that it was a small shuttle type. Hence it was attached to a larger vessel. If the Imvari could get the shuttle, they could potentially get to the larger vessel.

And it would be even better, for the Imvari knew that the Ikaarans tended to segregate their ships by gender. Two females would, inevitably, mean more.

The other ship – the one they had just seen – was interesting. And it definitely had females on it; about a third of the crew complement. But that ship was well-armed and well-defended, unlike the Ikaaran vessels which were sent to the Expanse for farming or mining.

They'd get back to it later. But first, the Ikaaran females. They were a sure thing.

=/\=

Throughout the day, Esilia and Kerna flew. The planet's gravity was fairly weak so their escape velocity did not have to be too high. However, once they were free of the planet's gravitational grip, they had to navigate the anomaly field that had been created by the chi radiation emanating from the unfinished gravimetric sphere. That was considerably slower going.

Once they were free of the anomaly field, they sent a short message to the surface. "_We are on our way_."

With few resources at their disposal, limited power and no real sensors to speak of, they did not know the Imvari were headed their way until the far larger ship was nearly on top of them.

=/\=

On the Imvari slaver ship; even though they saw the Ikaarans, they proceeded with caution. The anomaly field was still hazardous.

The Imvari followed standard policy, which meant that they detached a shuttle of their own. Their shuttle, unlike the one piloted by Kerna and Esilia, was armed.

It was difficult to maneuver in the anomaly field, so the Imvari ship moved slowly and kept out of the way of things. The Ikaaran shuttle moved equally slowly and away from the part of the field which closed and camouflaged the planet where their comrades were. 

=/\=

On the _Enterprise_, it was dinner time. As promised, for Malcolm's birthday, there was a beautiful Mexican spread. Foods from the _NX-01_'s stocks were seamlessly commingled with replicated fare. If anyone outside of Food Service could tell the difference, they weren't saying.

Malcolm ate in the Captain's Mess with Jonathan, Tripp and T'Pol. Lili served. "How's forty-two feel?" Tripp asked him.

"Not too significantly different from forty-one," Malcolm admitted.

Lili brought out the smoked pineapple tart. "Now I know this is kinda different from what you're used to. And if you don't like it, we can go back to Chef's pineapple upside down cake next year."

"I'm sure it will be fine, Ensign," Malcolm remembered that the pineapple upside down cake had some sort of dairy in it. For the past couple of years, his birthday cakes had been decent albeit rather cloying, and he had paid for that with visits to Sick Bay on the following days. The cramping from his lactose intolerance had been awful.

"This year," Lili announced, "the dessert is vegan. So if you'd like to indulge, Commander T'Pol, then please feel free. It's a smoked pineapple tart. So it's not overly sweet. Lieutenant," she showed him the tart, "do you have a preference as to which part you'd like me to cut for you?"

"Whatever you think is best." She brought the tart over to a sideboard and began to slice it.

There was a communications chime. Captain Archer answered it by using the wall panel. "Yes?"

"Sir," it was Aidan MacKenzie, who was in charge on the Bridge, "Travis took us closer to an anomaly field."

"And?" Jonathan asked, a little anxious.

"And that Imvari ship isn't too far away. There are also a couple of smaller ships. I'm guessing they're shuttles of some sort. Everybody's moving slowly. It's kinda hard to tell what these maneuvers are all about."

"Huh," Captain Archer mused, "I take it they're still not responding to hails."

"Right," Aidan replied, "Sandra is listening for any chatter, but she can't get anything beyond some clicking and popping."

"Keep a safe distance," cautioned the captain, "and let me know what happens. Archer out."

Lili set down a slice of the tart in front of Malcolm. "Well?" she asked, "What's the verdict?"

"I don't believe I have ever had anything better," Malcolm said sincerely.

"Thanks," Lili smiled at him.

The captain and Tripp exchanged a glance. "Uh, I gotta go check on the engine," Tripp declared.

"Is there an issue?" T'Pol asked, not getting it.

"Actually, you can help me with the relays," Tripp said.

The Vulcan eyebrow rose. "How so?"

"I could use the, the bounce off," he got up and she followed him out.

"I'd better check on Aidan," said the captain. He, too, departed.

Malcolm and Lili looked at one another. "I believe," he said, "this is one of my best birthdays, ever. But there's room to improve it even more."

"Oh? Did you want more tea?"

"No," he got up. "Perhaps something sweeter."

He came closer and kissed her on the cheek. "That is for the wonderful tart."

She kissed him on his cheek. "That's for saying it was really good."

"And this," he kissed her a lot closer to her mouth, "is for how discreet you have been about my lactose intolerance."

"And this," she kissed him, also a lot closer to his mouth, "is for how appreciative you are."

"And _this_," he said, hands on her waist, "is for how wonderful you are. Logs or no logs, destiny or not, there is a reason I wrote you poetry. And there is a reason why, even before we were together, I even changed my will, to favor you." He gazed deeply into her eyes. "I always noticed your eyes. But now I'm obsessed with them. Your hair has always looked bright and pretty to me. And now it does even more."

"I might have a little flour in my hair, yanno." She put her hands on the back of his neck and touched him lightly, an act that made him shiver a little bit. "And for how much I have noticed about you. There's no monopoly on beautiful eyes. You always look capable and smart. You're always in control."

"I'd like to lose control," he whispered, and then kissed her on the mouth.

The first kiss was close-mouthed and ended quickly as they gazed at each other. He murmured, "This is right." They kissed again, but this time it was a passionate French kiss as they closed their eyes, arms enveloping each other.

When they finally broke apart, she sighed a little and staggered just a tiny bit. "Don't fall," he cautioned, and then peered at her more closely. "Or, perhaps, you should."

"One step at a time," she replied.

"Right," he gazed at her. "I imagine the captain will want his Mess back at some point."

"Probably," she chuckled a little. "Plus I need to dump the dishes into the sanitizer, and put the leftovers away."

"I have no plans," he said, "Allow me to assist you."

"Uh, all right, if you don't mind a little cleanup duty."

"It's all right," he said, "I just want to spend time with you."

She looked down. "You're very sweet."

"Would you like to attend Movie Night this week?"

"He, uh, he already asked me," she stated, "It's funny, I can't really figure out how the whole thing got off the ground. But there's this big file. It's an agreement that all three of us signed. It's detailed about all sorts of crazy things."

"Do you wish for that sort of an arrangement?"

"Maybe," Lili admitted as she tucked dirty dishes into her cart, "but it's hard to say. We were all happy; that much I know. But things are a little different right now. For one thing, it's happening a lot more quickly."

"The last time," he explained, "I was humiliated. See, I had made a pass at Sandra. And she rejected me. But it was more than that, for she rather loudly and publicly proclaimed me to be closeted. It took me a while to get my confidence back. You were apparently a great help with that." He came closer and she put down the teacup she was holding. He took her hand and kissed it. "I want you to know that I will do what I can to make things work. Just tell me what it is, and I shall do it."

"I wish I knew what it was," Lili murmured, "but this is wonderful. Truly, it is." She turned back to continue loading up the cart but he put his hand on her face and kissed her again, lingering.

It was another long kiss. After they broke apart, he said, "We should finish your task."

"Yes," she replied absently, "let's get this show on the road."

=/\=

It was perhaps the fastest that Lili had ever loaded the sanitizer. No one else was in the galley but the two of them. "Do you need to wait for it to be finished?" Malcolm asked.

"Nope. Got anything in mind?"

"I do," he replied, "but I don't wish to rush you."

"Oh?"

"I, uh," he smiled a little, "Forgive me; I can sometimes be overly anxious when it comes to, to these sorts of things. We played a great deal of chess. Would you care to accompany me to my quarters and, and play a game?"

She looked at him. "Your eyes are like the deep blue sea." She smiled. "Yes. Let's play."

=/\=

When they got to Malcolm's quarters, neither of them made a move to get the chessboard or the pieces. It was just kissing. Finally, Malcolm asked, "May I see what you look like without, uh, without your jacket on?"

"Oh! Sure," Lili unzipped it. He reached in, holding her waist with his hands. Then, as he kissed her neck –an act that made her moan a little – he eased the sleeves off her. The chef's white's jacket fell to the floor.

He looked at her and smiled. "I was hoping you would look precisely like this."

"Really? You weren't afraid I was fat?"

"The jacket is boxy," Malcolm stated, "so there was no way of knowing your true shape. I confess that I was a little concerned, but only in the sense that I wish for you to be healthy."

"Is that all?" she pretended to tease him, but she was truly a little fearful that she didn't measure up to his expectations.

He thought for a moment, weighing what to say next, so as not to offend her or to appear shallow in any way, "Up until very recently, I was a leg man. But now," he moved his hand up slightly from where it had been resting on her waist, "I am a breast man."

"How recently is _recently_?"

He came close, kissed her ear and then whispered into it, "About a minute ago."

She chuckled a little at that. "Let me tell you what I like. I like a British accent. I like blue-green eyes. I like a cleft chin. I like a former leg man, turned breast man. I like a guy who claims we're gonna play chess but then doesn't bother." This time, she initiated the kiss.

He murmured, "It's very hot. You see, in my logs, I referred to you as _the white-hot flame_. And it's true. _You are_." He started to unzip his uniform jumpsuit but she put a hand over his and did it herself. She pulled the sleeves down and then, with her kneeling in front of him, he put his hands on her shoulders and stepped out of the uni. She straightened up and took off his long black thermal shirt, leaving him in a tee, briefs and socks. He unbuckled her belt and removed the pants portion of her chef's white's uni. This left her in just a turquoise tee shirt, panties and socks. He straightened up. "Tell me," he whispered hoarsely, "how far do you wish to go?"

She came close and kissed him again, hand on his waist, separating his tee from his briefs and tugging at it a little bit. "No limits," she whispered.

"Are you certain? I want very, very much for this to last," he said. He was very aroused but he also didn't want to blow his chances for later. "I want to assure that there will be a tomorrow, and a Thursday next, and beyond that, and all in between, Lili."

"I do, too," she breathed, "that's why I want to seal the deal tonight."

"And, and _him_?"

"He'll become a part of my life when he's ready," she whispered, "Maybe it'll be at Movie Night or next week – ah, your Thursday next. Or next year; I don't know."

"I shall tell you," he separated her tee from her panties, "If I didn't know it could work, I would not be in such ready agreement. And I evidently wasn't so quick to accept it all last time. But I will do what I can in order to make it all work, only as long as that does not involve leaving you."

"It won't," she breathed. He pulled her top over her head.

Staring at her bra, he said, "I am, most definitely, a breast man now." She pulled his tee off and he said, "You need to catch up." He put his hands behind her back and unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the floor. Her panties soon followed.

She hooked her fingers into the sides of his briefs. "Dare I?" she asked playfully. Smiling at him, she peeled them off his arousal and pulled them to the floor. He stepped out of them.

She straightened up, and he did the same. Naked, they both stared at each other for a few minutes. "Do I, do I meet your expectations?" she asked expectantly.

"No," he replied, "you exceed them."

=/\=

In Engineering, Tripp continued checking relays. T'Pol was still with him. She finally said to him, "I am failing to comprehend the need for my assistance in this matter."

He stopped what he was doing, and looked at her. "Don't tell me you didn't catch how Malcolm and Lili were lookin' at each other."

"Their flirtation does not translate into your requiring my presence for this task."

"They needed to be alone," he was a tad exasperated. "And it's Malcolm's birthday, for cryin' out loud! The Cap'n and I figured out the best gift for him was for us to clear out."

"Still –"

"Plus it gives you and me a chance to spend some time together," he explained, "Ever since the kick back in time, you've barely said three words to me."

"Commander, I –"

"And that's another thing," he complained, "I'm not sayin' everything's perfect between us, but I wish you'd acknowledge that there's, uh, that there's an _us_. Or there was. Or there will be. Dammit, I hate verb tenses these days."

She thought before replying. "My logs were extensive. The subject matter ranged from our resource allocations to the birth of our twins."

"Did you love me?"

"There is overwhelming evidence that I did."

"So why are ya bein' so damned cold to me?"

"Commander," she asked, "did you research when you died?"

"Yeah," he said, "it was, uh, 2063." He looked at her and there was just the slightest flicker of emotion that played over her face. Suddenly, it dawned on him. "I get it now. You were widowed for a good ninety years. And you don't wanna go through that again, am I right?"

She turned to leave. "Am I at least warm?" he asked, searching her face for a trace of confirmation, but she provided none. He made no move to prevent her from departing.

In the hallway, T'Pol nearly ran smack dab into Dan Chang. "Hey, baby," he said to her, eying her up and down and licking his lips, "ready to accept my offer?"

"Crewman, I am on my way to the Bridge."

"I'll go with you."

"I believe your posting is elsewhere."

"I'll be late, then," he said, matching her stride.

She ignored him as she hurried along. He got into the lift with her. She looked straight ahead. He hit the emergency stop and then grabbed for her breast. And that's all he remembered doing.

He did not see her reach behind his head, to his neck, and pinch it at a certain acupressure point. He collapsed, rendered unconscious by her touch.

She stepped over his prone form when the lift reached A deck, where the Bridge was. Aidan was on duty. He looked up. "What the hell happened to him?"

"Crewman Chang has been briefly incapacitated," she replied matter-of-factly, "he belongs on D deck, guarding Engineering."

Tristan Curtis was the Security Crewman on the Bridge. "I'll get him back there," he volunteered. He went to the lift and pulled Chang's limp body up to a standing position. He gave Chang a quick slap on the cheek. "Get up, Romeo."

"What –?"

"We're going back to Engineering," Tristan told him, "and you'll tell me why Commander T'Pol apparently clocked you but good, and why you left your post. And then I'll send Lieutenant Reed a nice report on your adventures this evening, eh?" 

=/\=

Esilia and Kerna did their best to maintain stability, but it was not easy. "This was a mistake," Kerna said, "I fear we are trapped."

"Can't we maneuver, perhaps, toward that other ship, there?" Esilia asked. She was pointing, unaware that that ship was the _NX-01_.

"I do not know that configuration," the pilot admitted, "Do you suppose they are allies of the Imvari?"

"Hmm, no," Esilia said, "we have never seen the Imvari work with any other species, save the Orions. And the Orions do not take part in capturing slaves."

"Then who are they?" Kerna asked, frightened.

"I do not know," Esilia said, "Perhaps they are lost, or they are novices in the Expanse."

"Are they friend or foe?"

"We have few options. There is flight, but we are slow, and the anomaly field is treacherous. There is suicide. I suppose we could ram the side of the Imvari slaver. But, apart from killing us and destroying our shuttle, there is no guarantee that anything else would happen."

"True," Kerna said, "and if we do no real damage to the Imvari vessel, then our sacrifice would be all for naught. There is also allowing ourselves to be captured, you know."

"That is the most distasteful of the options, for I fear that we would be somehow forced to divulge the presence of our shipmates. All we have left is to attempt to contact that other vessel, and pray that they are not friends to the Imvari."

"Agreed."

"I will prepare a message."

Esilia thought about her message and then opened a channel. "_Unidentified vessel_!" she called out, "_Please help us! We are a peaceful people who do not wish to be enslaved! We will provide you with any reward you seek_!" She set the message to automatically repeat.

=/\=

In his quarters, Jay read chapter after chapter of _Sun-Tzu_. He finally put the book down. "I can't believe I had the guts to ask her out. And she even said she would! That arrangement we all had the last time, it was, I think it was a good one." He turned on his desktop computer.

"Computer, dictation mode." He began his log. 

=/\=

_Jay Hayes's Personal Log, September second, 2037_

_I know that I really should get over Susan, but the truth is, all I want to do is ditch that and do my best to build a new life. And I really want to be in Lili O'Day's life, I'm thinking. Every log entry I've read confirms it, particularly the ones from after we were married. We really loved each other. I have never, truly, had that before. And I know I want it, bad._

=/\=

"Computer, document dictation," Jay said. "_I, Jay Douglas Hayes, of a sound and more or less happy mind, do so change my will as follows: I leave all of my possessions, such as they are, to Lili O'Day, and her heirs. This includes full and complete access to all logs from any version of me that's out there. I do this in order to demonstrate my hope in our future_."

=/\=

On the Bridge, Sandra said, "There's an incoming message, or at least I think it might be."

"On screen," commanded T'Pol.

"It's audio only." Sandra hit some switches and the air was filled with clicking and popping sounds.

"That doesn't sound like anything," opined Chris Harris, the night shift pilot.

"No, Crewman," T'Pol speculated, "it may be akin to the speech of Xindi Insectoids."

"Insectoids?" asked Aidan from the Tactical station.

"Contact Ensign Sato and Captain Archer," T'Pol commanded Sandra, "It is possible that the Imvari are harassing another species."

"So you're saying we should get involved?" Aidan asked.

"I am merely suggesting that we investigate," was the cool Vulcan reply.

=/\=

Lili came close to Malcolm. "Sit down for a sec," she said to him.

"All right." He was about to ask her what she was going to do when she bent over him. It was her hands, yes, but it was also her mouth. It was _especially_ her mouth. He was jolted and gasping after he'd climaxed. Panting, he looked at her and grabbed her face in both hands and kissed her passionately. "I, I've never done that before," he breathed.

"Never done _that_?"

"Oh, I have done _that_," he confirmed, "I mean, I mean afterwards, to kiss immediately after. I would, I would always wipe the woman's mouth."

"Oh. Does it bother you?" Lili asked.

"Not anymore," Malcolm admitted, "that all seems so overly fussy. And, and _you_! I'm not used to, to nice girls doing such things. And doing them so _well_, I might add."

"So I am a nice girl?"

"You are the nicest girl I know." He bade her to sit down on the bed. "Here, perhaps you would be more comfortable lying back." She complied, and he worked his way downward, beginning with her neck, moving on to her breasts and belly, and then her thighs and beyond.

He followed her lead, listening for any catches in her breath or changes in the pitch of her moans. She pointed a bit, too, and he followed that as well, concentrating on whatever it took. Once she had climaxed, he lay by her side. "Are you, is this what you want, Lili?"

"Yes." Her eyes flashed downwards. "You're ready to go again, I see."

"I am. Do you see what you do to me?" Coming closer, they kissed and then merged. Again, he whispered to her, "This is right."

She nodded, and they began to move together. Rolling around a bit on the narrow bed, every movement was calculated to bring them closer and maximize their pleasure. Hot kisses interrupted loud moans until finally Lili erupted with an extremely loud cry that sent Malcolm over the edge as well.

Both of them were so overstimulated that they laughed a little, even as they were still entwined and their pulsing, rhythmic climaxes were dissipating. Malcolm murmured, "I do believe they heard you on all of the decks."

"Maybe," she allowed coyly, "see, I have to, I have to communicate my joy."

"I am only glad that I am here to witness such joy."

"And cause it, too," she confirmed.

They rolled over as they broke apart, and she glanced at the chronometer at his bedside. "Damn! Look at the time!" she exclaimed.

He looked over. It was already oh two hundred hours. "Stay here," he said.

"I have to get up in two hours," she said, "and I have to be really clean for work."

"Then take a shower with me in the morning."

"I can't just get back into dirty clothes, Malcolm."

"Then go to your quarters," he said, "and get yourself some clean things for tomorrow and come right back, all right? And I shall set the alarm for whatever time you like."

"Oh four hundred hours, please," she said, getting up.

"Then oh four hundred hours it shall be," he said. He set the alarm while she put her clothes back on. He then slipped on clean briefs and a pair of shorts. "Do come back," he said.

"Of course," she said. She kissed him and departed.

Smiling to himself, he turned on his desktop computer. "Computer, dictation mode." 

=/\=

_Malcolm Reed's Personal Log, September second, 2037_

_I have had the most extraordinary day. And it is not quite over yet. For we are together, and she is as compelling as I had hoped for. We are a good match, with what I feel is a solid bond, not to mention exquisite sexual compatibility. _

_As for him, she says they will go to Movie Night together. And while I would prefer not to share, I must say, a half of this loaf is far, far better than none._

=/\=

"Computer, document dictation," Malcolm commanded. "_I, Malcolm Reed, of a sound mind, do change my last will and testament as follows: I leave all of my worldly possessions to Miss Lili O'Day, and her heirs and assigns. I do this because I believe that I am falling for her, and I wish for her to know that_."

=/\=

When Lili got to her quarters, her roommate, Jennifer, was nowhere to be found. "Huh," she said, "I guess I'm not the only one having a little fun tonight."

She quickly doffed her jacket and then, deciding she didn't want to just carry it back with her the following day, she removed her bra as well. She tossed the articles into her laundering unit, along with a few other items and started it up.

She found her best underthings – a pair of dark purple panties and a plunging front hook bra. She put them into a small canvas backpack, along with a dark blue scoop-neck top and a pair of chef's white's pants and a pair of socks. A jacket was kept to the side.

She thought about what to add, and began to rummage through drawers. _Makeup_? She decided against it_. Hairbrush? Yes. Perfume? Too much. Tooth cleaner? Yes_.

She got into the little bathroom and washed her face. She smiled at her own reflection. "This day turned out a bit different than you expected, eh, Charlotte?"

She turned on her desktop computer. "Computer, dictation mode."

=/\=

_Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, September second, 2037_

_It's been a while. But man oh man; it's like riding a bike. You just never forget. Malcolm is just a fantastic lover. I can't believe how I lucked out!_

_He's sweet and funny, too. Normally, I'd be heading for the hills if someone was getting so intimately involved so quickly. But I'm okay with it. He says it's right and I have to agree with him. And that's not the old logs talking. It really is spectacular._

_As for Jay, I have every intention of seeing him for Movie Night. And if the same thing happens, then I guess we're off to the races. And if it doesn't, or if he wants to move more slowly, then that's okay, too._

_I do not expect Jay to be a better lover. And I am not dissatisfied in any manner. I just know – if things are already so right – and I know how they went with Jay, then there is no need to keep that last piece out of the puzzle._

=/\=

Jonathan Archer and Hoshi Sato, roused out of sound sleeps, were at their stations on the Bridge. T'Pol was at the Science station while Sandra hovered anxiously near Communications.

"Is it Xindi Insectoid?" Sandra asked Hoshi.

"I don't think so." Hoshi took the earpiece off.

"Have you got a handle on which species that shuttle belongs to?" Jonathan asked T'Pol.

"It is neither Xindi nor is it Imvari," said the Vulcan.

"I've been checking Charlotte's database and our own. I mean, you know, the other _NX-01_'s," Aidan reported, "and I'm coming up empty."

"We do have their entire database, don't we?" asked the captain.

"Far as I can tell, yes," Hoshi said, "This syntax is odd. The message repeats, so I'm guessing it's some kind of a distress call. After that, though, I'm not sure. And I don't have enough of their language for the UT to really pick it up and run with it."

T'Pol looked up. "The shuttle is composed of a number of somewhat common alloys."

"Do you know who uses such alloys?" asked Jonathan.

"There are several candidate species. These include humans, Tellarites, Vulcans, Orions, Tandarans, Xyrillians, Andorians, Enolians, Ikaarans, Osaarians and Klingons," replied T'Pol.

"So that's more or less everyone, it seems," said Chris as he piloted the ship.

"The list does not include Denobulans, Caitians, Imvari or any of the Xindi species," T'Pol replied crisply.

"Cross-reference the message with any languages spoken by anyone on the list," the captain suggested.

The clicking message played, over and over again, as they watched the Imvari shuttle approach the unknown shuttle, and they wondered what, if anything, they should do about that. 

=/\=

Lili got out of her quarters with her bundle. Instead of heading straight to Malcolm's quarters on B deck, she went to the galley, which was on E deck. She opened up the refrigeration unit. "Ah, leftovers." She sliced off a sliver of the smoked pineapple tart and wrapped it up in a cloth napkin. "I bet this'll make you happy."

She left the galley and got to B deck. She heard footsteps behind her. It was the middle of the night, and she was not expecting that. "Yes?" she asked, turning around.

"Midnight rendezvous?" Jay asked.

"Something like that."

"Look, uh, if you don't wanna go to Movie Night, I get it," he looked down.

"I _do_ want to go," she insisted, "I want to, um, I want to make a go of it with, with both of you."

"Really? I had thought, I mean, I heard …." His voice trailed off.

"Yeah, I guess I'm kinda loud. I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"No, it's okay," Jay replied, "I wouldn't think I'd be okay with it, but I am. I read, you know, I read everything. And I would hear you then, too. And the way I processed it was that I wanted you to be happy. And, and I think I do now, too. Does that make any sense?"

"I want you to be happy, too." She came closer and kissed him on the cheek. "I can't wait for Movie Night. And, uh, we can move at whatever pace feels right, okay? No competition. This isn't a race."

"Agreed," he said. "Um, have fun, okay?"

"I'll try to keep the noise level low."

He walked back into his quarters and sat down on his bed. "Huh," he said to himself, "I don't know if that means I'm a chump or I'm really mature. I'll go with mature." He pulled the covers over himself and grinned a little, thinking about Movie Night.


	10. …There is an Equal& an Opposite Reaction

Chapter 10 … There is an Equal and an Opposite Reaction

There was a gentle knock on Malcolm's door. "Come, come in," he called, trying to mask his excitement.

Lili entered, and immediately put her canvas backpack on his desk and draped her jacket over his desk chair.

"You've returned," he observed.

"Did you doubt that?"

"I did not doubt you. I doubted myself," he admitted.

"Well, doubt no more," she smiled, "Plus I brought you something you really like."

He got up and kissed her. "Yourself."

"And this!" She presented a small bundle with a flourish, wrapped in a cloth napkin.

"_Oho_! What's this?"

"Close your eyes, and open your mouth."

"How intriguing," he murmured, before doing just that. She broke off a small piece of the smoked pineapple tart and gently placed it into his mouth. He smiled as he tasted it. Swallowing it, he opened his eyes and winked at her, "I have an idea."

"You look mischievous."

"Most definitely." He peeled her clothes off and bade her to lie back on the bed. He placed a small piece of the tart on her breast and then licked it off her body. Thoroughly, he licked her clean, moving downwards as well. She was writhing as he finished.

"You _tease_," she breathed, "Your turn." She eased his shorts and his briefs off. "I don't need pineapple flavoring."

"Oh?"

"You're delicious just the way you are."

"No one's ever referred to me as _delicious_ before."

"Good," she breathed, "'cause I don't feel like fighting 'em off."

He was going to say something when, again, all coherence was lost. As before, he could not wait to kiss her afterwards.

They both lay there, panting. "Yanno," she noted, "we do need to sleep a bit."

"Yes, yes, of course. Here," he lay to the side and put his left arm out, extending it. "Can you put your head here?"

Lying on the left side of the bed, Lili nestled into the crook of his arm. She kissed him. "G'night."

"Good night."

"Oh, and Malcolm?"

"Hmm?"

"I talk in my sleep."

"Oh. All right," he replied softly.

=/\=

As Lili slept, she began to dream. But this was no ordinary dream.

_She was in a pitch black room. There were footsteps. "Who's there?"_

"_A friend." The voice was familiar, and had a British accent."_

"_Malcolm?"_

Lying next to her, Malcolm heard her call his name in her sleep. He kissed her forehead and went back to sleep.

"_No," Lili's dream continued, "but you're close."_

"_I don't understand."_

"_You won't remember this dream in your waking life. But you will recall it from dream to dream. For this is no ordinary nocturnal vision."_

"_I don't know if I believe you."_

"_I suppose that's to be expected."_

"_Who are you, if you're not Malcolm?"_

"_Call me Ian. I am; there are an infinite number of universes. But two are inextricably intertwined, like lovers."_

"_Are you making a pass at me?"_

Malcolm heard that sentence, smiled and turned over, going back to sleep.

"_Would that I were," mused Ian, "Rather, it's, there are two. They are close, and there are counterpart persons. You have one, Malcolm has one, and Jay does as well. Plus others, like T'Pol and Jonathan Archer and Phlox. Then there are others like Ethan Shapiro who do not have counterparts here."_

"_In your universe, right?"_

"_Right," he confirmed, "I am in one, and you are in the other. Or, rather, I was in the other. But now I'm on a different plane."_

"_A different plane," she surmised, "does this mean you're dead?"_

"_You are, of course, correct," confirmed Ian, "And this is a short rest so there isn't a lot of time for me to explain things. But I am Malcolm's counterpart. Jay's is named Douglas. Yours is here, too – she goes by Charlotte."_

"_Huh. Now, I'm not saying this isn't fascinating, but what is the purpose behind this contact?" Lili asked._

"_You may have recalled a voice in your dreams, when you were first brought back in time? That was Douglas. But it turns out that he is only assigned to your other iteration, from the first kick back. And I am assigned to this particular iteration."_

"_Assigned?"_

"_Yes," he explained, "for we are here to be with you in your darkest hours."_

"_This is my darkest hour? I just made love to an amazing man! I am sleeping next to him. So how is this dark at all, Ian?"_

"_There's the time," Ian seemed to somehow be checking that, "and I am sorry to be so mysterious. But tonight was to tell you who I am. That way, when you are next visited by me, you won't be quite so alarmed."_

"_Alarmed?"_

But the real alarm was going off, and she and Malcolm were waking up. The dream was, as Ian had predicted, completely forgotten. 

=/\=

Hoshi and Sandra had been working together for hours, trying to piece together the message from the unknown shuttle. Finally, Sandra looked up. "I wonder if we can get something more out of the other _NX-01_'s database."

"Oh? What do you have in mind?" asked Hoshi. They were still on the Bridge, both at the Communications station.

"Maybe something has that language in it, somewhere in the archives. Maybe it's something really unexpected like, I dunno, log entries. Or even something really off the wall."

"Let's search for recorded speech, then."

They clicked around PADDs until finally Sandra said, "Hey, wait a second. Here's a recording of caroling. It's from, uh, 2045."

"Let's hear it," Hoshi commanded.

The air was filled with some clicking sounds. "That's supposed to be _Santa Claus is Coming to Town_," Sandra reported, reading off her PADD as the two words, '_Santa Claus_' were, jarringly, sung on the recording.

"Then that ship is Ikaaran," Hoshi deduced.

"And we should do something about this," decided Captain Archer. "Let's get breakfast." He pinched the bridge of his nose. Being woken up in the middle of the night was not doing him any favors. "And we'll talk about what to do. Uh, let's make it a breakfast meeting."

Hoshi nodded and started notifying the rest of the senior staff.

=/\=

In Malcolm's quarters, as he started the water for the shower, Lili's PADD _dinged_. "Ah", she reported, "I am making you breakfast today."

"Oh?"

"You've got a meeting. Of course I have no idea what it's about."

There was another _ding_. This time, it was his PADD. "Right on schedule," he looked it over, "it's about this shuttle in an anomaly field. It seems it's Ikaaran. I suppose the captain will wish to do something, seeing as there were Ikaaran brides last time 'round."

"As he should." she stepped into the shower. "Coming?"

"Of course."

He entered the shower and they steamed up the glass doors almost immediately. Getting clean was put off as they moved together, standing up. When they broke apart, they were both panting. "Oh, I could start every day that way," he told her, gasping.

"Me, too, wow."

"Lili," he looked at her as they both began to calm down a bit and she started to wash her hair, "may I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you know how, how people fall in love?"

She stopped what she was doing for a moment and thought as the water ran and he scrubbed his arms. "I, well, I suppose there's hundreds, even thousands of ways. Hell, it's millions and even billions. We probably all have our own ways. It must be as individual as a fingerprint."

He stopped what he was doing and enveloped her in his strong arms. "I know that this is moving very fast. And if this frightens you, the, the speed, that is, then I apologize. But I must, I must tell you this, Lili."

"Hmm?" She held his waist in her hands and looked him in the eye as the water ran all over them.

"_I think that this is my way_." 

=/\=

"We've been watching an unfolding incident," Captain Archer informed them as they sat down to breakfast. Lili served blueberry and plain pancakes, giving Jay a serving that was all blueberry as she knew he liked them.

"Oh?" asked Travis.

"There are two shuttles in a nearby anomaly field," T'Pol reported, "One of them is most certainly Imvari, and the larger slaver ship is nearby. The two are undoubtedly connected. The other shuttle, we believe, is Ikaaran."

"Sandra and I think we've got the semblance of a translation of their distress call," Hoshi stated, "Now, we know from their database that the Ikaarans send out single-sex crews. But from the language, gender is really impossible to tell."

She played the message, which was spoken by a translated voice that the computer generated and sounded female, although it also sounded very flat and electronic – "_Unidentified vessel_! _Please help us! We are a peaceful people who do not wish to be enslaved! We will provide you with any reward you seek_!"

"They're definitely calling for our help," concluded the captain.

"Aidan gave me his report," Malcolm added, "and he has scanned the two shuttles. The Imvari shuttle is fairly well-armed, particularly for a vessel of its size. The other has no weaponry at all. It does have other, interesting characteristics, but we can't put our fingers upon them. It's possible that the anomaly field is preventing a fully realized scan from being performed." He looked up at Lili as she poured coffee and allowed himself a small, shy smile at her, which she returned.

Despite herself, Lili stopped what she was doing. A whistling teakettle brought her back to her senses.

"What kind of weapons has the Imvari shuttle got?" asked Jay.

"Low-yield plasma weapons," Malcolm read off his PADD. "Oh, thank you," he interrupted himself as Lili placed a small pot of hot water in front of him. He selected a bag of English Breakfast tea. "It's nothing we can't handle, although firing upon them while in the anomaly field, and with the Ikaaran shuttle so close by – that much could prove to be rather tricky."

"Can we get a shuttle of our own in there?" Jonathan asked.

"The anomaly field's no picnic," Travis explained, "and we are packing like that Ikaaran shuttle is."

"Perhaps we could outmaneuver them instead," Malcolm suggested.

"Can't we push the Imvari into an anomaly?" Jay asked.

"Maybe," Travis allowed. "It'd be a lot more possible with two shuttles. One would be used to pick up anyone from the Ikaaran shuttle, or maybe just lead them to safety, and the other to distract the Imvari and do the actual pushing."

"The slaver ship's a problem, too," Jay explained, "It would help if they were softened up with weapons fire first."

"We don't want to risk hitting the Ikaaran shuttle," Malcolm clarified, "After all; these anomalies can do all manner of things. Who's to say they can't change the trajectory of the yield from our phase cannons?"

"You don't even know if this is a female ship," Will pointed out, "What if we're risking a lot and just saving a bunch of guys?"

"We should still do it," Shelby stated, "I mean, does it always have to be about the bedroom? I remember when this ship was launched. We were all about helping people. And now some people have pretty clearly asked for our help. I really hope we haven't become a bunch of people who only help out when it's convenient for us, or when we can get something out of it."

T'Pol had been quietly eating a bowl of Scottish steel-cut oats. "It appears that this shuttle contains persons who, in our absence, would surely either die out here, or become enslaved. If we act to save them, yet cut off their contact to their home world, we could avoid temporal contamination."

The captain looked at her, as she didn't seem to be finished with her thought. "And?"

"And the earlier version of the _Enterprise_ suffered greatly, due to the persistent gender imbalance," replied the Vulcan, "It was one of the main drivers behind the attack on Crewman Socorro. Furthermore, Crewman Chang is already exhibiting similar behaviors."

"But Sandra isn't," Hoshi stated.

"That is to Crewman Sloane's credit," T'Pol stated, "But Chang is less fortunate."

"I am already seeing and treating depressed crew members," Doctor Phlox reported. "And that depression, combined with envy and unchecked aggression, was another driver of the behaviors believed to have led to the incident with Crewman Socorro."

"But if we save a ship full of men, the imbalance will only get worse," Will pointed out.

"I still say we should help people," Shelby insisted, getting a little testy.

There was a communications chime. Hoshi answered it. It was Aidan from the Bridge. "You're not gonna believe this, but that Ikaaran shuttle just disappeared."

"They were destroyed?" Malcolm asked.

"No, sir. We haven't detected any weapons fire. They just shimmered out of existence. And it's not just visual. We can't get them on scans, either."

"It may be a cloaking device of some form," T'Pol concluded. "That could prove rather useful when attempting to elude the other version of the _NX-01_."

"Then it's not just about rations and brides and even about doing the right thing," Jonathan concluded, "Now it's tactical, and it's to protect the timeline. You say you'd need two shuttles?" he asked Travis.

"It would work better that way, yes."

"Then let's do this. We'll have you pilot one, and Chris will take the other one. Malcolm, you'll go, and so will you, Jay. You'll each take a few crew members. I want someone in Engineering, maybe to figure that cloaking device out, see if we can take it with us. Bring some muscle. We may need to shift gears quickly. If the slaver ship comes close, one of the shuttles' crews may need to board it and lay charges."

"Right away, sir," Malcolm replied.

Jay nodded. "Haynem has an engineering background. He can do double duty."

"Take Torres from Engineering," Tripp suggested, "he's good with a phase rifle."

"Get two more and get to the launch bay in a half an hour," Jonathan commanded, "Dismissed."

=/\=

Malcolm and Jay called for volunteers, but they excluded the women. "Sorry," Jay explained, "but it's the captain's orders, on account of the ratio. Maybe next time."

"This mission is for suckers. Those Ikaaran chicks are nothin' but dogs." It was a familiar, nasty voice.

It was Chang who was mouthing off, so Jay glared at him. "There's one," he grunted.

"I'm not volunteering," Chang sneered angrily.

"I distinctly heard you volunteer, Crewman," Malcolm insisted.

"I'll go; too," volunteered Tristan Curtis, "really, let me. I did some horrible things last time. Let me try to redeem myself."

Malcolm and Jay nodded at each other. "There's our two," confirmed Malcolm, "Mister Torres and Mister Chang, you will accompany me. We will fly with Mister Harris. The remainder will fly with Major Hayes."

"Brooks, Tris," Jay told them, "our pilot is gonna be Travis."

=/\=

Lili got the dishes into the sanitizer in record time. She was about ready to fly out the door when Will stopped her. "Just where do you think you're going, O'Day?"

"Malcolm needs me. And I think Jay does, too."

"Oh, c'mon!"

"_No_," she responded angrily, "I have to go and see them off. You have to let me do this."

"I am not gonna have you just run off and neglect your job when they go on every little mission and jaunt. You stay here."

"Or _what_?" she asked defiantly.

"Or I'll have your rank, Ensign."

"_Then take it,_" she stormed out.

Craig looked at Will. "I can take care of the dishes, sir."

"Oh, shut up." 

=/\=

At the launch bay, everyone was on board except for Malcolm and Jay. Lili ran in, breathless. "I got here as soon as I could," she panted. She approached Jay first. "Be careful, okay?" She kissed him on the cheek and hugged him.

"You, too," he replied softly. "Remember, we got Movie Night tonight, okay?"

She nodded and kissed him again, her lips lightly brushing against the corner of his mouth. He looked at her with his lopsided close-mouthed smile and got into the shuttle with Travis.

Malcolm came close to her. "I appreciate your seeing me off."

"How could I not?"

"You're going to be wonderful to come home to." He kissed her hands. "This is right," he repeated, in a soft voice.

They kissed, lingering. Finally, Chris got out of one of the shuttles and tapped Malcolm on the shoulder. "I'd honk the horn," he joked, "but these things don't come with horns. See ya later, Lili."

"See ya, Chris," she then turned to Malcolm again, "See you soon." She kissed him once more, quickly and close-mouthed, on the mouth. He got into the shuttle with Chris and they closed the hatch. She retreated to a safe distance and the two shuttles departed.

"O'Day?"

She turned, a little teary. It was Will. "Hmm?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I didn't realize you were already together. Craig told me he had heard you last night. I guess I heard you, too, but I didn't put it all together. So I guess you had to be here."

"Definitely."

=/\=

On the Ikaaran shuttle, Esilia and Kerna were working hard. "The cloak is working well," Kerna reported, "But I fear it will not hold."

"Understood. But at least, for the moment, they are confused. Let us move closer to that other ship."

"They are releasing two shuttles," Kerna reported.

"Let us hope they are our saviors, for I fear we are now truly stuck and unable to maneuver. I hope the cloak holds out a little while longer."

=/\=

The Imvari slaver ship turned, and began firing. It narrowly missed the shuttle that Jay was on. He commanded Travis, "Let's get to the Imvari shuttle as fast as we can."

"Right," Travis increased their speed.

On the other shuttle, they turned to face the slaver ship. "Let's keep them busy," Malcolm suggested.

José Torres was sitting nearby, his tall frame tucked into the back seat. "We'd better take them out."

"Right," Malcolm commanded, "Mister Harris, as quickly as you please." They increased their speed, moving in the direction of the slave ship.

On Jay's shuttle, they got close to the Imvari shuttle, "Okay, ready about!" he called out.

Travis smiled to himself, "You must be a sailor, sir." He turned the shuttle on a dime.

"Sometimes," Jay replied.

"Hold onto something," Travis warned as their wake hit the Imvari shuttle.

The Imvari shuttle fired upon them, but it was also in the middle of being turned. It, too, missed its target.

Malcolm's shuttle maneuvered closer to the Imvari slaver. They docked quickly. Grabbing the charges, they ran out of their shuttle and onto the slaver ship.

On the Ikaaran shuttle, everything was momentarily all right until there was a power fluctuation. The cloak shimmered and was lost. Now that they were against visible, the Imvari ship went after them, and began firing upon them.

"Can anyone fly a shuttle?" Travis yelled out to his passengers.

"I'll try!" yelled Brooks Haynem.

"Then stay here," Travis told him, "we'll dock with the Ikaarans and I'll see if I can fly that thing."

"Take Curtis with you," Jay suggested, "just in case you're boarded."

Travis nodded as they docked with the Ikaaran shuttle. There were bumps as the anomaly, and shots from the Imvari shuttle, began to do damage.

The two men got onto the Ikaaran shuttle. Esilia and Kerna talked at them, but there was no understanding them. Travis got into what he figured was the pilot's chair. One of the Ikaaran women – he had no way of knowing it was Kerna – sat beside him. She pointed at various controls as they worked together.

In the back of that shuttle, Esilia eyed Tristan and showed him where there was a handle where he could hold onto as the _Enterprise_'s own shuttle undocked.

=/\=

Malcolm and his team ran through the Imvari slaver's hallways, looking for the central core. Finding rooms with pictographs to the side of their entryways, he deduced, "These seem to be important."

They turned out to be cells for prisoners or, perhaps, slaves. There were species in there that Malcolm didn't recognize. They ran by – there was no time to free anyone. They had to start laying the charges.

As they ran by, José aimed a phase rifle at a panel and shot it. The door to that cell slid open and a species they did not recognize – the people looked almost doglike in appearance – began to run with them, but there was no understanding their new friends.

Another room, another panel with pictographs, was ahead of them. "Here," Malcolm indicated. He shot at that panel, and the door slid open. There were people in there, tall, menacing Imvari who were even taller than José. They began shooting. Dan was hit in the shoulder.

Malcolm threw a stun grenade in and that caught most of them off-guard. "Mister Harris!" he yelled. "Get to the central core. Torres will come and get you. I need for you to fly this ship." He nodded at José, who ran out.

"This is suicide," Dan snarled testily, "I am not gonna die here under your command." He turned his rifle on Malcolm.

"That's a rather poor choice on your part," Malcolm replied. He then turned and shot at an Imvari who was coming to.

José brought Chris over as fast as he could. Chris got into what seemed to be the pilot's chair and grabbed at what was a kind of joystick. The ship began to turn. "All right," Chris smiled a little.

Malcolm flipped open his communicator. "We have helm control on the slaver ship. But I fear it will not be for long."

Captain Archer answered. "Travis and Tristan have the Ikaaran shuttle and they're heading back. Can you take out the Imvari shuttle?"

"With pleasure, sir," Malcolm found what seemed to be the Tactical station on the unfamiliar ship. Punching a few keys, a panel opened up, revealing a display showing pictographs of long and short lines. Another joystick seemed to control direction. He aimed for the Imvari shuttle and hit one of the shorter lines. "Ah, it's a torpedo," he murmured as the item was launched.

He hit the Imvari shuttle, thereby destroying it. But the debris was too much for the _NX-01_'s shuttle. It began to break apart. As that happened, the Imvari slaver ship was hit with a field of debris.

On the _Enterprise_, Tripp was manning the transporter. "I got a lock!" he yelled. "Looks like it's two people!" He beamed aboard a very surprised José Torres and a sneering Dan Chang. Jennifer and Michael were assisting. They pushed Chang and Torres off the transporter pad to try again.

But it was too late. The Ikaaran shuttle made its way out of the anomaly field as the Imvari slaver ship was destroyed by debris from its own ruined shuttle and the shuttle where Jay and Brooks were. 

=/\=

_It was less than a second, and Malcolm and Jay both knew that it was all over._

_They found themselves, with Brooks Haynem and Chris Harris and the prisoners of the Imvari and the Imvari themselves, on a stone bridge._

"_What the–?" Jay asked._

"_We've died," Malcolm deduced._

"_And Lili?"_

"_She's not here. She must still live."_

"_And Torres and Chang aren't here, either," noted Brooks, "They must've gotten out somehow."_

"_I guess Travis and Tris made it, too, and the Ikaarans in that shuttle," Jay opined._

"_What should we do?" Chris asked, looking behind him. "There's nothing in the back of the bridge."_

"_It means we cannot go back," Malcolm stated._

"_Then we move forward," Jay said, "all of us, and we face whatever this is as a team."_

_They proceeded forward and, while it was not a garden, it was a pleasant enough place. Malcolm and Jay were met by men who looked like them. They were given articles. Jay got a hammer. Malcolm was given one side of a two-man saw. "Carpentry?" Malcolm asked._

"_And more," replied the man who looked like Jay. He handed Chris a Phillips head screwdriver. Brooks was given a piece of sandpaper._

"_You are going to build," explained the man who looked and sounded like Malcolm. He was holding a tape measure. "I am Ian, and this is Douglas. You are to build for all you have wronged, as a part of your atonement for any sins you have committed. And once you are finished, you will build for her. And you, Mister Haynem, you will build for Sandra. And you, Mister Harris, you will build for your parents."_

"_Will Lili be all right?" Malcolm asked._

"_Yes," Ian replied, "and I am charged with assuring that. It is a task that I embrace with complete fervor and conviction."_

=/\=

On the _Enterprise_, they brought in the Ikaaran shuttle. Lili was there, in the landing bay, waiting. Her eyes scanned for Malcolm and Jay. "Where are they?" she asked, voice rising in panic.

Travis came out with Tristan. They helped the two Ikaaran women out. "Major Hayes told us to go on ahead," Travis said gently.

"What? _No_!"

"He did, Lili," confirmed Tristan, "he was on our shuttle."

"And, and Malcolm?"

Jonathan Archer was behind her. "The other shuttle docked with the slaver ship. Tripp tells me he managed to beam two people out."

"Oh, God, please," Lili looked up, "I don't ask for much. Oh, oh, please."

The doors swished open. It was Dan and José. José came right over. "We got beamed out," he told them, "what about the others?"

Jonathan shook his head. Lili collapsed. 

=/\=

_In the dark, she heard footsteps again. "Ian?" she called out, sobbing._

"_I am here," he took her hand. "They have arrived. They cannot come right now. But they told me to tell you that they will always watch. And they will prepare for when you come."_

"_I want to be there now."_

"_You cannot," Ian told her, "You have a long time to go. And there is a reason why you are still among the living. You must embrace it, and not squander it."_

"_Help me," she begged._

But she was being gently tapped on the face by José Torres, who had caught her. Dream forgotten, she looked up at him. "_Why_?"

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, September third, 2037_

_We did it, but it had a horrible cost. We have saved two Ikaaran women. But it has cost us four of our men – in particular, my friend, Tactical Officer Malcolm Reed. Major Jay Hayes is also gone. So is Security Crewman Brooks Haynem and night shift pilot Chris Harris._

_Our situation doesn't afford me the luxury of mourning. Tomorrow, I will speak with the women we saved. Let's see what's going on with them. And my grim duty will be to promote Aidan MacKenzie to Lieutenant and make him the new Tactical Officer. A new night shift pilot will be selected from the Navigation department. I will accept whatever recommendation that Travis gives me, with no questions or reservations._

_Haynem will be replaced, probably by someone in Navigation if they are strong enough. Julie McKenzie will be promoted to Major in order to replace Jay. I will go by her and Aidan's recommendations on someone to fill in for Haynem. There's got to be some way that I can shuffle people around. Maybe one of these Ikaaran women can do something. It's late and I am exhausted and it's too much to think about just now._

=/\=

_William Slocum's Personal Log, September third, 2037_

_I was a real jerk today. I almost prevented Lili from seeing Malcolm off. And he died on that mission today. If I had really kept her from going, she'd have never forgiven me. And I would not have blamed her in the least._

=/\=

_Tristan Curtis's Personal Log, September third, 2037_

_I can't believe I have a shot at life. I didn't before. I'm going to make the most of this._

=/\=

_Sandra Sloane's Personal Log, September third, 2037_

_Brooks is gone. I can't believe it. I didn't love him, but I know I could have. Oh God._

=/\=

_Daniel Chang's Personal Log, September third, 2037_

_It serves them right. I never wanted to be on that foolhardy mission anyway. That's what they get for being unprepared – casualties._

=/\=

_José Torres's Personal Log, September third, 2037_

_I wish I knew what to do, how to comfort Lili. She's like a widow. I feel so badly for her._


	11. Connecting

Chapter 11 – Connecting

Lili didn't sleep that night. She lay awake, listening to Jennifer's even breathing and the little sounds that a star ship makes.

At 0400 hours, as always, the alarm went off. To her ears, it sounded like a bomb had been detonated. She cried out and very nearly fell out of bed.

Jenny rubbed her eyes. "Hey, Roomie, how are you feeling?"

"Don't, don't ask," Lili got up.

"Here, I'll get up, too, and I'll walk you to the galley," Jenny offered.

"You don't have to."

"I want to. Lili, we're friends, right? So this is what friends do for each other. They are there for each other."

"Thanks." They hugged. Lili remembered something. "Are you dating Aidan now?"

"Yes."

"Didn't he miss you last night?"

"I guess," Jenny shrugged, "but he's okay with it. He agreed it was a lot more important for me to spend time with you."

"You're the best." Lili was overcome, and started to cry again.

=/\=

At the galley, Jenny tried not to hover. "Maybe make something cold," she suggested, "and without anything you have to cut."

"Toast? Hmm, Jenny, there aren't a lotta options."

"I know. I just don't want you to cut or burn yourself accidentally." _Or deliberately_, Jennifer thought but did not express aloud.

Lili loaded up the huge toaster with several slices of different kinds of bread. She then opened up the refrigeration unit to get the jam jars out. Lifting the blueberry jam, she dropped it, and the glass shattered, strewing fragments everywhere.

She bent down, picking at the pieces with her bare hands until the skin on her fingers was shredded from rubbing against the numerous fragments and there were scrapes on her palms and wrists. Still knelt down, she began to wail uncontrollably.

Jenny quickly came over and noticed Lili's bloodied hands. She flipped open her communicator. "Sick Bay!" she yelled, "We need help!"

Phlox was in Sick Bay, looking in on the two Ikaaran women, who had slept in decon overnight. "What is the trouble?" he inquired.

"Lili is; she's freaking out."

"Bring her here immediately. Phlox out."

"C'mon," Jennifer helped Lili to a standing position, "let's go to Sick Bay. C'mon, Sweetie."

Lili said one thing that was comprehensible. "T-toaster."

Jenny looked at it to see if there was a way to turn off the unit quickly when the doors swished open. It was Craig. "What happened?" he asked; his voice full of alarm as he saw the blood.

"I'm taking her to Sick Bay," Jennifer told him, "She said you need to turn off the toaster. I'm sorry; she won't be able to help you today."

"It's okay," Craig flipped the switch on the unit. "Lili," he came closer, "you leave everything to me, okay? I'll take care of all of it. Don't worry 'bout this. I got this."

Jenny and Lili departed. Craig set about cleaning the blood and the broken glass and blueberry jam off the floor. 

=/\=

Once they had gotten to Sick Bay, Jenny flipped open her communicator again. "Commander Tucker, I'm in Sick Bay. Lili isn't doing so good."

"That's okay," Tripp was getting dressed for his shift. "I'll get Kelly or Rostov in. And, uh, lemme know how she is, okay? Tucker out."

Jenny went over to the bed where Lili was sitting. Phlox was nearby and quickly got her hands bandaged. He explained, "Ensign O'Day, I am going to give you an injection of Hypralonine. It is to try to help you to feel better. Do you understand me?"

Lili just sat there and said nothing. She stared into space, eyes unseeing.

Phlox flipped open his communicator. "Andrew, please come down here. I need your assistance."

"Right away," was the response, "Miller out."

"Now, Ensign," Phlox said gently, "I know that this is hard for you. I am bringing Andrew Miller here to keep you company, all right? I need to let the two Ikaaran women out of decon, and then get them something to eat. Have you had breakfast, Ensign?"

Lili said nothing, but a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Ensign Crossman, has she eaten?"

"No," Jennifer shook her head. "Doctor, was she trying to kill herself? Her wrists were scratched with the broken glass."

"I do not believe so," stated the Denobulan. "But this is a very difficult time. She will be staying here in Sick Bay for the next several days." He opened up his communicator again. "Chef Slocum? Yes, it's Doctor Phlox. I have Ensign O'Day here. She will be here for the next several days. Phlox out."

Jenny leaned over, close to Lili and touched her friend's bandaged hand. "I have to go to work now. But I'm going to come and visit you every day, I promise. All right, Roomie? You take care of yourself." She hugged Lili, who was impassive and continued to just stare into space.

Jenny looked over at Phlox. "It's like she's completely shut down."

"Try not to take it personally. Grief manifests itself in lots of different ways. Either Andrew or I will be here to make sure everything is all right. Don't worry."

Jenny left as Andrew arrived.

He came over. "What's going on?"

"I need for you to sit with Ensign O'Day while I release our guests from quarantine. The Ensign is in some delayed-reaction shock."

"What should I do?"

"Just be nearby, all right?" Phlox went over to decon and began to disengage the locking mechanism.

"Lili, can you hear me?" Andrew asked, "Can I get you anything? Some water, maybe? Here," he went over to get a glass and filled it at the small sink, "I've gotten you some water. Are you up for a little water?"

She just stared into space. "Listen, I'm no cook, not like you. But will you take the glass and, and pretend it's beer or something? Don't make me look bad, all right? I've never done this before."

She started to cry again, sobs wracking her body. He gave her the glass and she clutched it like a life preserver, and then drank it all down, draining it in an instant. She looked at him and cried one word, "_Why_?"

=/\=

Once Phlox had let the two Ikaaran women out, they looked at him and began talking at once. Their speech was unfamiliar. He held a Universal Translator, but it was slow getting a lock on their syntax.

They followed him out of decon and peered at Lili. They came close, touching her shoulder, their tongues clicking and popping, trying to make themselves understood. Their eyes were obvious – they were sympathetic. But they could not be understood.

Phlox engaged the wall communicator and called for Hoshi to come down and try to make sense of things. He then called the galley. "Can someone please bring some breakfast for us here in Sick Bay? It will be me, Crewman Miller, Ensign O'Day and our two guests."

"Are they vegan?" asked Brian Delacroix.

"I don't know, and I'm afraid I can't ask yet."

"Okay," he replied, "we'll assume that and go from there. How's Lili doing?"

"I think it would help if she saw you, Crewman." 

=/\=

Brian came over as soon as he could, carrying a bag. "I can't stay," he explained, "Chef and Craig need me to help. It's, uh, it's not easy. Lili?" he came close, "I found there were muffins in the freezing unit. I got you a corn muffin, okay? And I got blueberry and bran and cranberry walnut if you don't like that, all right?"

"B-blueberry," she whispered, "Jay likes blueberries."

Brian stopped and looked at her. "Lots of people like blueberries," he said softly. "Would you like that one instead?"

She nodded vigorously and he gave it to her. She sniffed it, inhaling its aroma deeply into her lungs. Weeping, she took a small bite of it.

The Ikaaran women each took a muffin from Brian. They tentatively tasted theirs. He found himself putting a hand on the hand of one of them to keep her from eating the little paper it was wrapped in. He then gave them cups of milk which they drank down greedily and put their cups out for more.

"I believe they have been starving for a while," Phlox opined. He brought the Universal Translator closer again. "I do hope you'll try to talk a bit more."

The two women clicked a bit more as the doors swished open and Hoshi came in. "All right, let's see." She clicked a few times and the Ikaaran women looked at her expectantly. Another few clicks.

One of the women, who had darker hair than the other one, clicked a few times. Finally, the Universal Translator kicked in. "We cannot thank you enough."

"Can you understand us?" Hoshi asked.

"Yes," replied the dark-haired Ikaaran woman. "I am Esilia. Which of you is the captain of this vessel?"

Hoshi smiled. "I'll get him."

The other Ikaaran woman stated, "We have been starving. I am Kerna. My apologies if our manners are a bit rusty. But we have been desperate."

"Are there more of you?" Brian asked.

"Yes," Kerna nodded.

"I'll be back with seconds," Brian looked over at Lili who was still, very carefully, picking off little bits of the blueberry muffin and sadly eating them. He decided not to disturb her. He took the other papers and the used cups and departed.

"Captain," Hoshi reported into the wall communicator, "our guests would like to thank you."

"On my way. Archer out."

"We appreciate this," Esilia told them, "You have been kind beyond anything we could have expected." She approached Lili. "We saw damage and destruction. You have lost someone very dear to you."

Lili just nodded, still obsessed with the muffin as it crumbled in her bandaged hands.

"I am so sorry," Esilia told her, "I vow to you that this loss will not be wasted."

The doors swished open, and the captain entered. "I'm Jonathan Archer," he stated.

Esilia and Kerna introduced themselves. Esilia told him, "I cannot thank you enough and I doubt we can repay you. And to ask a favor, it seems the height of impudence. Yet I must ask."

"Oh?" asked Captain Archer.

"We have comrades. They, too, are starving. We can take you to them, either in our shuttle, or in one of yours if you have another."

"We lost two shuttles," Captain Archer stated, "and four men along with them. Two of them were very important to Ensign O'Day here."

"I see," Kerna looked at Lili.

"Of the other two," Jonathan stated, "one was a pilot. And the other was dear to one of the women who work in Communications."

"This one?" Esilia asked, referring to Hoshi.

"Not me," Hoshi stated, "But you should meet Sandra."

"We cannot pay you, Captain," Esilia explained, "At least not, as we are. I know what our distress call said. It said that we would reward you. It was not an untruth. But perhaps it was a bit of puffery. Can you forgive us for that? We were desperate. And we are desperate yet, for I fear that the ones we left behind are dying."

"Let's not talk about payment," he said, "let's just get your fellow crew members here, all right? You're on an all-female ship, right?"

"All but our captain," Esilia informed him, "Verinold is a bit of a chaperone as well. We are farmers. It is why we were sent out from Ikaaria in the first place."

"Let's get you set up in the Observation Lounge," the captain suggested, "Hoshi, could you bring our guests over there? And let's get the coordinates of where their comrades are, let's get those coordinates to Travis, okay? Right now, I'd like to speak with Ensign O'Day."

"Yes, sir," Hoshi beckoned and Kerna and Esilia followed her.

Once the door had closed, Jonathan turned to Lili. "I'm going to hold a service tomorrow. You can come or not. No one will judge you. But I want you to know that both of them left you everything in their wills. This includes access to their logs, both current and from the, the other version. You don't need to do anything just yet, or ever. I just want you to know." He touched her bandaged hand. "What happened here?"

"There was a broken jar in the galley," reported Phlox. "I will keep her here for a few days. It's probably best if we keep away from jars right now."

"I can take you to the service," Andrew volunteered.

Lili nodded slowly, sadly. "Yes," she finally whispered, "Take me to the service. I will stand and remember them."

=/\=

Travis was called over to visit Kerna and Esilia in the Observation Lounge. Kerna gave him the coordinates for the planet where their shipmates were stranded.

"That's not too far from where we picked you up," he deduced. He then tapped the coordinates into his PADD. "Huh. Stellar Cartography says that's just an anomaly. Are you _sure_ these are right?"

"Positive," Kerna implored, "please, we beg of you, we know that they are in danger of starvation."

"I'll tell the captain." 

=/\=

Back on the Bridge, he relieved the new night shift pilot, Colleen Romanov, and then reported his observations. "I don't know what to think," Travis admitted. "I doubt they've got a reason to steer us wrong, but I _know_ that's an anomaly. And, well, it's right near where, you know, where it happened."

"I know," the captain nodded. He looked at Aidan, who looked away. "But I think we need to follow this lead. We'll get close and we'll, we'll send a shuttle. Either you or Colleen will pilot it."

At the sound of the word _shuttle_, Hoshi felt herself choking up. "It hasn't even been forty-eight hours," she observed sadly.

"Right," agreed the captain, "but we can save lives here. I would, I would like for Harris and Hayes and Haynem and Reed's legacy to be that."

"Sir, can I speak with you for a second?" asked Aidan.

"Sure. T'Pol, you have the Bridge." Jonathan ushered Aidan into the Ready Room. Porthos looked up and then went back to chewing on a rawhide bone.

"Sir, I never wanted to be promoted this way."

"Understood."

"I also, I just, I haven't even asked her yet, but I wanted to get the go-ahead from you first."

"Oh?"

"It's Jennifer Crossman, sir; I want to ask her to be my wife. I hope you'll perform the ceremony."

"MacKenzie," Captain Archer said, "this is very fast. The records from before put the two of you together. And I have no records of a divorce. I can't comment on the union itself, whether it was a happy one or anything like that. But this is early, and we have just suffered a horrible loss. Even in the last iteration, Judy Kelly and Michael Rostov didn't get married until later this month."

"Sir, I know the timing isn't the best," Aidan admitted, "But if there's one thing that this has taught me – and reading my logs, too – what it's all taught me is that, well, that life is short. And you'd better grab all the comfort you can get, while you still can."

=/\=

In Sick Bay, Andy sat on a stool near where Lili sat on a bio bed. "Tell me if you need anything," he said. He turned his PADD on and started to read an anatomy text.

Exhausted, she lay down, facing to the right, the same way she had faced when she and Malcolm had slept in the same bed. "I'm cold," she whispered.

"Oh, hang on." He got up and got her a blanket, and tucked her in. 

=/\=

Almost immediately, she was asleep.

_In the darkness, she groped along, feeling the borders of a room. She touched flesh and jumped a little. "Ian?"_

"_Yes," he said, "I've only just gotten here myself."_

"_How am I gonna go on?"_

"_People will help you. You have a lot more friends than you realize."_

"_Where are Malcolm and Jay now?"_

"_There are limitations on what I can say. But let me assure you, they are working hard. See, Dante was right about a few things. You do need to work off your transgressions. But it's not impossibly heavy boulders being pushed up impossibly steep hillsides."_

"_No?"_

"_No. Instead, it's useful, honest labor. You work for everyone you've wronged."_

"_But those people haven't been born yet."_

"_It doesn't matter. Your time – and I don't just mean your specific iteration, but all of them – it doesn't sync up with this time because we are truly outside of time."_

"_Is everyone alive and dead at the same time?"_

"_Yes, that's right."_

"_So I'm there, and I'm with them."_

"_It's true. But you, too, are working. You're not free of sin, you know."_

"_I know," she mused, "but at least I'm with them. It seems strange to live, and strange to die."_

Andrew looked up for a second, hearing her say in her sleep,_ "It seems strange to live, and strange to die." _He shrugged and went back to his reading.

"_I suppose. But there are purposes to both."_

"_Do you have fun, where you are?"_

"_At times, yes. It's not all work."_

"_Do you have sex?"_

"_It wouldn't be heaven without it, eh?" He chuckled._

"_Are you smiling? I can't see."_

"_Here," he took her hand and guided it to his mouth, "can you tell now?"_

"_Yeah." She moved her hand to try to touch the rest of his face, and he balked. His hand stiffened on hers and he kept her away. "What are you doing?"_

"_Do not attempt to touch the remainder of my face."_

"_But why?"_

"_Just, don't."_

"_I mean you no harm," Lili told him._

Andrew heard her say_, "I mean you no harm," _as he clicked to turn a page in the text on his PADD.

"_I know," Ian said, "but Dante was a bit misguided about something else."_

"_Like what?"_

"_We are not free of punishments. We wear our sins on our faces. You are in pitch black because you don't have a full and proper connection. But I am in utter darkness because I am blinded. And I will remain so until I have atoned."_

"_Oh, Ian, is it really that bad?"_

"_It is," he said, "for my past was abominably cruel. I atone through building, as well as I can, and working to learn who I was, and what that was truly about. And here, with you, attempting to explain things and comfort you, and keep you company, that is a part of my atonement as well."_

"_You're doing a good job with me."_

"_You're not just saying that?"_

"_No, I'm not. You're doing fine, Ian."_

"_Thank you. I, I've never done anything like this before."_

"_Surely you've talked to people."_

"_I have," he admitted, "but I have never comforted anyone before, ever."_

_She groped to find his neck, and put her arms around it. "You're doing well. I wouldn't be able to handle things without you."_

_A bit nonplussed, he tentatively put a hand on her back and, for the first time in much of any of his existence, both on the current plane and the mirror, living or dead; he embraced her without pushing for sex or taking advantage in any manner._

=/\=

The _Enterprise_ returned to the anomaly field. Colleen Romanov was ready in a shuttle. José Torres was with her. "Okay," she enthused, "let's do this."

Leading the way, they took off and the _NX-01_ followed them. They disappeared into space – a sure sign of a sphere. But their emergence did not show a completed sphere at all. There was a portion of one. "We've got, I think it's chi band radiation," he reported.

"I bet this sphere's abandoned," Colleen speculated, "Moving in closer."

The shuttle entered into another invisible area. The _NX-01_ had no choice but to follow it.

"Holy cow," Colleen observed, "Will ya look at that?"

"It's a planet," José hit a few switches. "It's got an atmosphere and heat, just like the Ikaarans said it would."

"Right," Colleen replied, "And there's their wreckage, over there. I'll set down near it."

With the _Enterprise_ in a tight orbit above, the shuttle touched down.

Five Ikaarans came over to them – one was male. He spoke, "Can you understand me?"

"Yes," José held out the Universal Translator. "Your two shipmates are on our ship. We've come to reunite you with them."

"Can we trust them?" asked one of the women.

"Show us evidence that Kerna and Esilia are all right," the Ikaaran man demanded.

Colleen flipped open her communicator. "Romanov here. I'd like to talk to Esilia."

A moment later, and Esilia's voice could be heard through the communicator's small, tinny speaker. "Verinold, we are here."

"Are you all right?"

"They are treating us well."

José realized he should turn off the Universal Translator. He did so, and their speech changed to clicking and popping. After a while, Verinold seemed to be talking to him, so José turned the device back on. "Could you repeat that?" he asked, "I had the translation off so that you could have your privacy."

"Yes," Verinold stated, "there are but the five of us. If we could have some food, we would be happy to farm here, and share our harvest with you, and do what we can for you. You have saved our lives. We owe you everything."

"Let's, uh, let's talk about that when we get back to the ship, okay?" Colleen asked. She and José shepherded him and the women into the shuttle and they took off. 

=/\=

In his Ready Room, Jonathan Archer sat and thought about things. Porthos by his side, he looked at the dog. "Yanno," he told the dog, "I don't know about lightning."

The dog tilted his head in puzzlement.

"I mean about it striking twice. Can I, can I read to you a log entry from, from before? Because I want someone to understand – I guess I really want to be that someone – I want to understand how things were before. Okay?"

The dog settled in.

Jonathan read. "_July first, 2052._

_If I could do it all over again, I would have pulled rank and gotten one of the human women, but we were all far too polite and they were all so deferential and, while it's good to be the captain, it's also sometimes maddening._

_Back in 2154, we were thrown back in time when a Kovalaan ship's impulse manifold created a particle wake. We hit 2037 before we knew what was happening. Before not only any of us were born, but before our grandparents even were, and long before the Xindi weapon was dreamt up, let alone built._

_Our mission changed, and it became not only to stop the Xindi, but also to survive for over seventy-five years. We became a generational ship, and the twenty-two women and fifty-eight men began to circle each other, and everyone wondered who would be the first to blink._

_First Kelly and T'Pol, then Crossman and Sato, then Cole and McKenzie, and Haddon, and finally down to Socorro and O'Day, and suddenly, one day, all of the women were taken._

_And I was the bachelor captain, Jonathan Archer, the guy with no one, amidst a few dozen other guys with no one, and we bided our time and wondered if there would be anyone, ever. And then we saw her._

_Her ship was trapped in an anomaly. She was Ikaaran; her name was Ebrona. She had a kind of a notched bridge to her nose. Initially, I wasn't sure what I felt about that. _

_I know I must've been overeager. I recited poetry to her, brought her flowers from the Botany Lab and even had Chef make her his closest approximation to Ikaaran cuisine. When we found a yellowish metal on Amity, I got Tucker to fashion it into an engagement ring. It was too big, but that was apparently okay._

_She thought I was funny, and charming, and take-charge, and she lamented my smooth nose but I guess that was all right, for she fell in love with me anyway._

_But she never told me that Ikaarans only live about forty, forty-five years. She was over thirty when we met. I had no idea that we would only have thirteen years together. Lucky? I suppose so, in some ways._

_And so here I am, and this beautiful woman, with eyes like coal and her lips were like a ripe strawberry and her smile could have lit up San Francisco – this beautiful woman is cold and lifeless and in a repurposed torpedo tube, and when I give the order to Aidan, her body will be shot off into space, and will orbit this little planet that we claimed for ourselves and absurdly named Paradise._

_And our son, Henry, he and I will go on, as I grow older until, one day, I join her, for there will be no one else. And when I look into his face, I will see eyes like coal."_

He looked up. "Can I ever love anyone like that again?"

The dog whined a little but was otherwise silent on the matter.

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, September fourth, 2037_

_We have brought in the remaining Ikaarans. And the planet where they have been living is interesting. T'Pol had expressed a concern that we wouldn't have a place to hide the ship. Shelby Pike worried that we wouldn't be able to farm anywhere. It looks like both problems are rather neatly solved._

_And, we have six new women, although we also have a new man on board. The ratio isn't completely smoothed out, but it's better. _

_And tomorrow, amidst these bits of good news, we will mourn our friends. And I will try to see if anything can be done for my chef's assistant, who seems to have been broken into a million pieces._

=/\=

_Jennifer Crossman's Personal Log, September fourth, 2037_

_Aidan proposed today. He said he had already gotten permission from the captain for us to live together. I was a little annoyed that I wasn't the first person to know about all of that. And it's so fast!_

_But I am all right with it. He's right – life is short. But I worry about Lili. She's gotta have a roommate right now, someone to look out for her. Maybe someone would be so kind. Maybe Deb Haddon – I'll talk to her. I hate seeing my friend so hurt._

=/\=

_T'Pol's Personal Log, September fourth, 2037_

_Some issues are apparently in the midst of resolving themselves. The ratio has improved. There is a place to farm and a way to hide the ship, at nearly any time. We will require other supplies but this is an acceptable initial solution._

=/\=

_Daniel Chang's Personal Log, September fourth, 2037_

_They're all acting like they didn't expect it to happen. But nobody was prepared! That's what happens – you get casualties. And now Aidan's my boss. Sheesh._


	12. Realizations

Chapter 12 - Realizations

They gathered in the Observation Lounge. The captain spoke. "It is with great sadness that I speak to you today about four brave men. They made the ultimate sacrifice, to help our new friends." The Ikaarans all bowed their heads.

"Christian Harris was the night shift pilot. He was quiet, and he kept to himself. He was available almost at the drop of a hat, and he enjoyed piloting the _Enterprise_ and her shuttlepods very much."

Jonathan cleared his throat before proceeding. "Brooks Haynem was an accomplished Security Crewman, with a background in engineering. While he could have done bad things," the full disclosure about their earlier iteration and the attack on Patti Socorro had not yet been made to the Ikaarans, "he chose not to. He was particularly kind to Crewman Sandra Sloane." Sophie put an arm around Sandra.

"Jay Hayes was the commanding officer for the MACOs. He was smart, accomplished and inventive. He was brought aboard because he was the best. I have no doubt as to that assessment. I never have."

Jennifer took Lili's hand. Lili stared into space; she was again in shock and impassive.

"Malcolm Reed," Lili gasped as Captain Archer spoke, "was our Tactical Officer, with a rank of Lieutenant. He was one of the smartest people I have ever known. Recently, I feel we became good friends. I also know how close he became to our sous-chef, Lili O'Day."

José was standing behind Lili. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"And the Ikaarans tell me that they recently had a loss on the planet's surface. And this was not their first loss, for there were casualties when they crashed, too. There are burial mounds there. I know that they have had their own share of sorrows. All we can hope is that, together, we can all begin to heal. I thank you."

Lili wandered a bit until she found Sandra. Wordlessly, the two women hugged, sobbing.

=/\=

As the group dispersed, Verinold found Captain Archer. "What we have is yours. The cloak, I imagine, cannot be adapted to your vessel or even one of your remaining shuttles, but you can use our shuttle, of course."

"Thanks," replied Jonathan.

"My charges and I appreciate your hospitality and your kindness. But at some point, we must be on our way."

"Uh, I don't think we can do that."

"Please do not mistake my gratitude for servility, Captain. We do not wish to belong to you."

"I know. But, uh, let me ask you, Verinold, when were you born?"

"Me? 1992 – probably close to when you were."

"No," Captain Archer told him, "I was born on October ninth, 2112."

"That's over eighty years from now."

"Yes," confirmed Jonathan. He explained about the Kovaalan particle wake, and how it had kicked them back in time, twice.

"How extraordinary. And you have no way to return?"

"None we can think of. We tried to contact the only time traveler we know, but either he's not hearing or he's not listening."

"I see."

"We also know a bit about your species," Jonathan stated. "We know that your ships are segregated by gender during your peak fertility years. And we know why – it's to keep you from having children, as your society doesn't believe in chemical birth control."

"That is correct."

"We also know that, on your grossly overpopulated planet, your scientists performed some genetic engineering on your species. Now you all die young, of a disease you call _the decline_."

"Correct again. For you to know so much more about us than we know about you – it is unnerving."

"We have our own database, and we have the one from our other version. If you stay with us, I am willing to share it with you."

"Oh?"

"Our scientists and doctors spent the better part of a century searching for a cure for _the decline_. They got close. Plus they developed some stopgap measures. They were able to extend your average life expectancies into the sixties."

"Forgive me for requiring verification," Verinold stated, "But I would like our Science Officer, Lemnestra, to investigate further."

"By all means," allowed Captain Archer, "In the meantime, feel free to move about the ship. We will provide escorts. It's not a lack of trust. It's to keep you safe."

"By all means," replied Verinold, and a look passed between the two men. Trust, it seemed, was elusive.

=/\=

Jennifer took Lili back to Sick Bay. "I want you to know," Jenny told her friend, "Aidan asked me to marry him, and I said yes."

Lili just stared straight ahead as they entered Sick Bay. The doors swished closed behind them. "Lili," Jennifer declared, "you're my best friend. Will you be my Maid of Honor? I don't want you to do anything you can't handle. But I would like you to stand up for me. It would mean the world to me."

Lili whispered hoarsely, some of her first non-dream words since she had heard the news, "Do you love him, Jenny?"

"Yes."

"I mean _love_ him," Lili was getting so worked up that Jennifer stepped back in some alarm. "Do you, would you give him anything, and, and do anything for him? Will you walk to the ends of the earth? Will you lay down your life if you have to? _Will you_?" Her finger stabbed into the air, pointing, almost accusatory.

"Yes," Jenny confirmed, as Doctor Phlox came over. "That and more. I love him, Lili! He's it. I _know_. He's the one."

"Then yes," Lili was much more quiet, "I will show my support."

They hugged. Jenny whispered, "Chip will be the Best Man. You'll dance with him once, okay?"

"I bet he's a lot better than I am," Lili whispered back.

They broke apart. Phlox looked at Lili. "I see we have a breakthrough. But I'd still like to keep you here, for a few more days. And then I'd rather you didn't live alone, at least to start."

"I'll find you a roommate, okay?" Jenny asked. "Someone who doesn't mind a super-early alarm."

"Okay," Lili looked at her, "And Jenny?"

"Hmm?"

"I never had a sister."

"I miss my twin sister," Jenny was wistful for a moment, "I'd be happy if you could kinda stand in for Claire." 

=/\=

In the Observation Lounge, the Ikaarans talked as Lemnestra and Verinold went over some proffered data.

"Their engineers are most interested in the cloak," reported Dakiza, "I have shown them how it works, and how to maintain it. The ones named Rostov and Torres are trying to understand the theory. They have been good about asking me questions, and letting me in on their findings."

"Torres is tall, almost like an Imvari," Izquilla stated, "I have spoken with their Communications personnel a bit. They are fascinated by our speech. It is most curious that they have an official language, but there are many other tongues on their planet."

"The loss of their pilot was so tragic," Kerna commiserated, "Their replacement – her name is Colleen – she seems a bit overwhelmed. I think she will be all right, though."

"They have a new Tactical Officer, too," added Timinka, who had fulfilled that role on their ship, "and another, lower-ranking one has moved up. His name is Ethan. He showed me a funny trick called juggling."

"We must not become too attached," Verinold scolded, "Esilia, you have been quiet."

"I have been thinking," she mused, "it seems that our presence and our skills and our technology, not to mention the planet, they are all good for them. And they are good for us, particularly if they can cure _the decline_. Can they?"

"There is a great deal of research," Lemnestra informed them, "and a lot of possibilities have been tried and eliminated. They were able to have children with us. And, as the percentage of human or Denobulan or Vulcan blood increased, a person had a longer life expectancy. Hence some of their strides were made chemically through research and treatments, whereas others were made through genetics, as an off-shoot of marriage and interbreeding."

"Were there any big breakthroughs?" Esilia inquired.

"There is a substance called quatromenaline. They use it as a second choice medication for depression," Lemnestra explained. "It appears to have increased life expectancy by a good four years, regardless of the percentage of Ikaaran blood."

"We should see if we can obtain this quatromenaline," stated Esilia.

"We must be mindful of its ultimate price," Verinold cautioned.

=/\=

"I do not trust this Archer," Verinold confided to Lemnestra when they were alone.

"The longer we remain, the more likely that history will repeat itself, and they will take brides from our numbers."

"We must take this quatromenaline and depart as soon as possible. I know that I told him that he could have the shuttle and its cloak," sighed Verinold, "but we must have a strategy for departure."

"We have, by all accounts, failed in our objectives," she speculated, "We will not be welcome on Ikaaria."

"There are other places where we could go," he told her, "There is the Lafa System, and there is Keto-Enol. There is Tandar Prime. Xindus is no longer an option, I believe."

"Andoria is another option," she opined, "but you and I are not pilots. Could we trust Kerna to do as we say, and steal our own shuttle back, and take us from here?"

"I do not know. But I most definitely do not trust Esilia."

They had not heard the doors open. It was Izquilla, who asked, "Why do you not trust Esilia?" 

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, September fifth, 2037_

_I get the feeling that Verinold is going to be a problem. While he's outwardly friendly, it just feels, I dunno, oily. Lemnestra seems to be of a similar mindset. But I have to trust their chain of command. He is their captain, and she is their Science Officer._

_But she isn't second – that's Esilia, the First Officer. The two lowest ranking are Kerna, the pilot, and Izquilla, who is in Communications. Dakiza, the engineer, and Timinka, their Tactical Officer, are in the middle, and seem to be on a par with Lemnestra._

_Esilia had told me that they suffered some losses and some people were pushed into various roles. Hence it's entirely possible that they are stepping into roles and circumstances for which they are not qualified or prepared._

=/\=

_Aidan MacKenzie's Personal Log, September fifth, 2037_

_Jenny and I will be married on October fourth. I can't wait. But she's right to want to delay a little, and let Lili get back on her feet a bit again. I can go along with that._

=/\=

_Tristan Curtis's Personal Log, September fifth, 2037_

_It's weird, being a survivor of all of that. I see Torres feels strange about it, too. So does Travis. As for Chang, well, who knows? He seems totally off the grid. And since he really was last time, I gotta wonder. What's that old saying – men, lock up your daughters?_

=/\=

_Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, September fifth, 2037_

_This is the first log entry I've made since, well, you know. _

_Life goes on. I will be in Jenny's wedding in a month. Colleen is the night shift pilot. Someone will be brought into the MACOs, I guess. Julie is their CO. and Aidan is at Tactical._

_And I am alone._


	13. Imperfect Instant Replays

Chapter 13 – Imperfect Instant Replays

A month had elapsed. Lili was back to living in her quarters on C deck. Her new roommate was Security Crewman Deborah Haddon. It was Jenny and Aidan's wedding day.

The Ikaarans lived in the Observation Lounge. There was no more talk of stealing back ships or departures. But that was not due to Verinold and Lemnestra suddenly accepting their circumstances. Instead, it was a function of having few to no opportunities to take action.

Farming had continued on the little hidden planet, as the _Enterprise_ continued to orbit it. Sandra threw herself into the work, knowing that it had sustained and transformed her before. It was also a means of assuaging her grief over losing Brooks. She was more affected than she had originally thought she would be.

Without Brooks to assist, the management of the second farming crew fell to Tristan. He became skilled, working closely with Dakiza and Timinka to work the land as efficiently as possible. The first harvest was projected to be pretty good, certainly better than they had originally thought. It was a far cry from barely scratching out a meager living, with the Ikaarans nearly all starving to death.

=/\=

Captain Archer was in his usual spot on the Bridge as it was a few hours before the scheduled nuptials. The doors opened. It was Chef Slocum, a man who barely visited A deck, let alone the Bridge.

"Captain," Will asked, "might I have a word with you?"

"Sure," the captain stated, "T'Pol, we'll be in my Ready Room." Once the door had closed, he asked, "Something on your mind, Chef?"

"Yes, well, we seem to be all set with fruits and vegetables. Anything we can't grow either here on the ship or on that planet, we can replicate."

"That's wonderful news."

"The thing of it is, I'm concerned about meat. That planet has nothing. The only non-humanoid animals on there are any hitchhiking viruses or bacteria."

"True."

"Sir, I'd like to take a hunting part to that Amity planet, and bring back some of what they called procul."

"What are they?"

"The database says they're large amphibious squid, and they can change color, possibly at will. According to the records, they can taste like deli meats or turkey, in general, depending upon body part, age of the animal and, of course method of preparation."

"Do we know when the other _NX-01_ is in that area?"

"We do," Will reported, "they were there in early September and then they get back there in late November. So I am thinking soon would be good. And we can avoid them by taking the Ikaaran shuttle and engaging its cloaking device."

"You'd best take the Ikaaran pilot, Kerna."

"Then I have the go-ahead?" Will asked.

"You do."

=/\=

Craig and Brian set up chairs for the wedding. Lili went to help them, but they waved her off. "Go do something nice with Jenny, while she's still single," Brian had suggested. And so Lili found herself waiting her turn for a haircut and style as the Quartermaster, Sekar Khan, attended to Jennifer.

"What do you think of this?" he asked, sweeping up her fiery red hair into a loose chignon.

"Huh, I dunno. What do you think, Roomie?"

"You might wanna stop calling me that, seeing as I live with Deb Haddon now," Lili reminded her. "Hmm," she appraised the proposed hairstyle, "it's asymmetrical."

"That is the idea," Sekar turned, "And the bride?"

"I like it," Jenny enthused, "I look mysterious and very chic. I think."

"Next victim," Sekar glanced at Lili.

"Oh yes, I suppose so. Not too short, okay?"

"Understood. It'll be just off the shoulder."

"Can I still put it in a ponytail?" Lili asked.

"Yes." 

"Then go ahead."

When Sekar was done, Lili had a dramatic side part and her bangs were swooped over to the side. "Looking good, Roomie."

"Thanks. Are you ready?"

"I think so," Jennifer decided. She had on a fire engine red short cocktail dress with an Asian design. She did not own a white dress, and Sekar did not have enough white material to make her one.

"A moment." Sekar produced a wide white sash and tied it around Jenny's small waist.

"Oh?" asked the bride.

"I have studied all of the wedding photographs from before," Sekar explained. "And all of the brides wore a sash such as this. The tradition is observed even into 2154. And now you are the first."

"I guess I am."

Lili clicked open her communicator. "We're ready here." There was an acknowledgement from the Observation Lounge. "Let's go."

The three of them walked together. Chip came and collected them. "Lookin' good, Lili," he said after complimenting the bride.

"Thank you," Lili looked down. She was wearing her best dress, a sapphire blue number she'd picked up on Callisto. She knew she had worn it the last time, when she had stood up for Jenny and Aidan before. But that time, it had been Malcolm who had been the Best Man, and Jay had given the bride away. A perfect instant replay was impossible, a fact that saddened her greatly.

Sekar got the doors opened and waited. Chip extended an arm and escorted Lili to where Aidan was waiting with Captain Archer. Then Jennifer took Sekar's arm. He escorted her to a canopy that had been set up.

"Who gives this woman?" Jonathan asked.

"I do," Sekar stated, "on behalf of her family."

"Before proceeding with the actual ceremony, I'd like to say a few words," began the captain. "It appears that I did this a lot of times in the last go-'round. I guess I got pretty good at it. But right now it's all new to me so, Jenny and Aidan, I hope you'll be a bit indulgent."

"No _problemo_," Aidan replied, and the assembly laughed together.

"All right," Jonathan smiled a tight little smile. "I'd like to tell you a little about an old Earth text. It's not a religious one. But it talks about love. It's by an ancient philosopher named Plato, and it's called _The Symposium_. For our guests, I'd like to point out that the text was written a good twenty five hundred years ago." Verinold nodded in acknowledgement.

"A symposium, these days, is a kind of scholarly discussion. But the story is, instead, about a dinner party of friends. And the subject turns to love. The guests are all asked to define it."

Jonathan continued. "Maybe at the reception, if anyone wants to, they can take a crack at defining it. But the story itself sets forth a few theories. There's one that I really like." Aidan and Jennifer looked at each other.

"The theory is that our original makeup isn't bipedal at all. Instead, we are quadrupeds. But it's not just our legs that are doubled. It's everything. We are originally beings with two heads, four arms and four legs. We are joined together, as one."

Aidan took Jenny's hand, smiling at her.

"But somewhere in there, perhaps just before birth, we are sundered in two. Split in half, we spend our lives looking for our own half, our _better_ half."

Chip glanced over, past Lili, to Deb.

"When we find that better half, we latch on, and we don't let go," Captain Archer explained, "for we know that we are completed and whole again. It feels like, like home, I suppose."

Certain people neared each other, a silent support of that hypothesis. Lili saw Tracey Carter and Oscar Tiburón, and Mara Brodsky and Walter Woods, get closer to each other. "Do you, Aidan, take Jennifer, to be your wife?"

"Yes."

"Jennifer, do you take Aidan to be your husband?"

"I do."

"By the authority invested in me, by Starfleet, and Earth and, well, all of you, I hereby now pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss your bride, Aidan."

Once the kiss had concluded and the wedding party had congratulated the happy couple as the canopy was removed, Chip disappeared in order to get the music started. "All right," he spoke over the intercom, "It's the first dance. And I wanna see some dancing. Even on the Bridge," he joked.

He started up the music. It was an old song by Dusty Springfield.

_I don't know what it is  
>That makes me love you so<br>I only know I never wanna let you go_

_'Cos you started something  
>Oh, can't you see<br>That ever since we met  
>You've had a hold on me<br>It happens to be true  
>I only want to be with you<br>_

Chip returned and he and Lili danced a bit. She finally quit. "Sorry," she shook her head, "I'm not exactly feelin' it. It's nothing personal. Plus I get the feeling you want another partner."

"Are you okay with that?" he asked. Lili nodded and he went to grab Deb.

_It doesn't matter where you go or what you do  
>I wanna spend each moment of the day with you<br>Oh, look what has happened with just one kiss  
>I never knew that I could be in love like this<br>It's crazy but it's true  
>I only want to be with you<br>_  
>Captain Archer approached the Ikaarans. "It's customary to dance," he stated.<p>

"We do not know how," Lemnestra informed him.

"I'm not much better, and I actually know how to do this. _Anyone_?" Esilia joined him.

_You stopped and smiled at me  
>Asked if I'd care to dance<br>I fell into your open arms  
>And I didn't stand a chance<br>_

_Now, listen, honey  
>I just wanna be beside you everywhere<br>As long as we're together, honey  
>I don't care<em>

_Cos you started something  
>Oh, can't you see<br>That ever since we met  
>You've had a hold on me<br>No matter what you do  
>I only want to be with you<em>

=/\=

On the Bridge, T'Pol was in command. She did not dance, of course. Ethan Shapiro was at Tactical and Diana Jones was at the Science station as Maryam Haroun tried her hand at Communications. "Ladies?" Ethan asked.

The Vulcan eyebrow was raised, but T'Pol said nothing. They were alone in the hidden sector of the Delphic Expanse. It was highly unlikely that there would be an emergency at that very moment. She decided to permit a small amount of frivolity, despite its obvious illogic.

Maryam shook her head, but Diana got up. "Sure," she said, "just don't step on my toes, okay?"

"Nothing to worry about from ole _Sugar Lips Shapiro_," he smiled.

"Er, Ethan you do know I'm a lesbian, don't you?" Diana asked as they danced.

"I do now," he was still smiling. He then turned serious for a moment and quietly said to her, "I hope you get what you need."

"I hope you do, too."

=/\=

_You stopped and smiled at me  
>Asked me if I'd care to dance<br>I feel into your open arms  
>And I didn't stand a chance<br>_

_Now hear this, honey  
>I just wanna be beside you everywhere<br>As long as we're together, honey  
>I don't care<em>

Lili stood, watching Jenny and Aidan, who were rather good, although he mainly just facilitated her movements. José came over. "I dunno how anybody can do that," he sighed, "I figure I'd just fall down and break something."

"I'm not that graceful, either," she admitted.

"No, you were!" José insisted. "_Really_."

"You don't have much of a sample size. I was only dancing with Chip for, like, a minute."

"It's engineering," he decided, "I can extrapolate."

_'Cos you started something  
>Oh, can't you see<br>That ever since we met  
>You've had a hold on me<br>No matter what you do  
>I only want to be with you<br>I said, no matter, no matter what you do  
>I only want to be with you<em> 

=/\=

As the song ended, Jenny and Aidan just stood in the middle of the Observation Lounge and kissed. Esilia and Jonathan moved off to the side. "Are all of your ceremonies this way?" she asked.

"No," he stated, "I know we've got people who'd probably like to have more deeply religious ceremonies."

"So there are customs in your faith?"

"There are a lot of faiths on board. Oscar Tiburón and José Torres over there are both Catholics. Ethan Shapiro is Jewish. Sekar Khan is Hindu. Hoshi Sato is a Buddhist."

"Do you practice one of those faiths?"

"I do not," he told her, "I'm a lapsed Lutheran."

"I understand absolutely nothing of what you say. The names of the various faiths, even those are confusing."

"On our planet," Captain Archer explained, "there have even been wars fought over those religions, and others, like Islam. That's the faith that Azar Hamidi over there practices."

"We have but one faith," she explained, "It is a natural one. We commune with the good things we get from the ground. This includes food, but also the minerals and the soil and ore from mining operations."

Dan Chang had gotten a hold of the intercom. Without any spirits being served, he couldn't blame his boorishness on alcohol. "You said you wanted to talk about love, Captain," he began, "but what is there to talk about? Unless it's the old _Beast with Two Backs_, know what I'm sayin'? Nobody here is gonna fall in love. And those who think they are," he sneered at Jennifer and Aidan, "they are just lyin' to themselves, and to each other. Everybody here is just gonna _settle_."

Lili had heard enough already. She approached Dan and her voice, too, ended up being amplified throughout the ship – a strange thing for her. "I will not have you ruin Jenny and Aidan's day!" she exclaimed, a bit teary, "Ever since Malcolm and Jay and the others died, you've been acting like a spoiled brat. Hell, you were acting that way before, but now it's even worse! It's like you've got no brakes!"

He glared at her but at least he had stopped talking.

Lili continued. "I don't know what love is. Not anymore, if I even knew then at all. And I see the people who can have an instant replay from last time. And I bet most of them will. Good for them. And hey, that was kinda my plan, too. I can understand the motivation." She stopped for a second and dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief. "But I hope you won't forget those of us who, who can never have an instant replay. It's not just me. It's Ethan Shapiro and it's Craig Willets and Brian Delacroix. It's Sophie Creighton, and Sandra Sloane and Tristan Curtis and Gary Hodgkins. And it's, it's even _you_, Dan Chang. And it's, it's Eddie Hamboyan and, and José Torres and Derek Kelby and others. And it's our captain, too. What do I think love is? I think it's a voice in the dark during your, your worst times. It goes beyond the end, after life and before birth. It crosses every line and every plane imaginable, and a lot that I bet we've never even thought of. And I know that Jenny and Aidan have got it."

"I know I'm supposed to make a toast," Chip came over and made sure his voice was heard on the intercom, "and no one's got a glass yet and it's not even the right time during the reception but, well, I think that was the toast. All I can say is _hear, here_." 

=/\=

_Jennifer Crossman MacKenzie's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037_

_We did it; we got married. And while I know it wasn't the same like last time, it was still pretty awesome. I don't know why I hesitated so long the last time. But now it doesn't matter._

=/\=

_Edmund Hamboyan's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037_

_I'm going to go talk to that Ikaaran girl, Kerna. She's their pilot. I know they are trying not to fraternize too much but I don't care._

_Last time, I married an Ikaaran named Minatka. Maybe it'll happen again, eh?_

=/\=

_William Slocum's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037_

_I got permission to go hunting on that Amity planet. This is my chance to really show off for the ladies. I gotta upgrade from Socorro this time around. Maybe Creighton._

_=/\=_

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037_

_I have conducted my first wedding. There will be many more, I am sure. _

_The sous-chef pointed out that there are any number of us without what she called instant replay chances. It's true. I am one of those who will have to change partners. I can't see standing in the way of earlier configurations. At least, people should be given a chance to try again._

_So right now there are three women who don't have instant replay partners – her – she's Lili O'Day, Sandra Sloane and Sophie Creighton. Interesting._

=/\=

_Chandler Masterson's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037_

_Deb and I move well together. It makes me wonder about other things. I am trying to play it cool but God, I look at her face and her light brown eyes and I don't know how long I can hold back. I hope she's okay with an instant replay as Lili says, 'cause I am so there._


	14. The Evil Oysters' Revenge

Chapter 14 – The Evil Oysters' Revenge

It took a while to get everything coordinated for the hunting trip on Amity. The Ikaaran shuttle had to be working perfectly – particularly its cloak. The other version of the _NX-01_ had to be absent. And their own version had to follow a trajectory that would not lead it anywhere near the other version. This was necessary so that the Ikaaran shuttle could be dropped as close to the Amity planet as possible. It just didn't have enough speed otherwise.

On board the _Enterprise_, the combined crew settled in as well as possible. People began to couple up and, like Lili had predicted, most of them simply chose their previous mates again. It was just easier.

Captain Archer found himself entertaining all sorts of new roommate requests, mostly for men and women to live together. As before, the couples were segregated to E deck, which was near Sick Bay. It was figured that that would prove useful when the inevitable pregnancies began.

Lili lost Deb as a roommate, and soon ended up with Patti. Sandra and Sophie were also paired up as roommates. It seemed easier to keep the bereaved together. And Lili noticed that Will did not come around to see Patti. It seemed as if he were attempting to court another.

In the galley, she asked him about it, and he confirmed it. "I'm looking to upgrade," he admitted, "I'm going after Creighton."

"Sophie's the lucky girl, eh? Well, Patti is available, yanno."

"Yeah," he sighed, "I know." Settling again – and knowing that they had not had a good marriage the first time around – those were just too depressing for Will Slocum to contemplate.

Craig and Brian walked in. "What's on the menu today?" Craig asked.

"I've got the hunt on Amity coming up today," Will told them, "so we'll have foods that aren't like procul. That means no deli and nothing smoked; I understand the procul are flavored more or less like that."

"Pretty weird," Brian commented.

"They're supposed to be kinda salty," Lili explained.

"Right," decided Will, "so no bacon or sausage this morning. We'll have hot and cold cereals instead."

"The replicator'll work overtime," Craig went in back to work on it.

=/\=

Lili served the big chow line, with Craig helping her, as Brian handled the Captain's Mess. For Lili, it was just not a good day. Too many reminders. She even set aside some Scottish steel-cut oats and dried blueberries and then remembered – there was no Malcolm to want the oats and no Jay to want the blueberries.

She stood there with a faraway look in her eyes. José approached. "Uh, I'd like some raisins and a little of the shredded coconut, please."

"Uh, sure," she murmured absently.

"You all right?"

"Uh, you like dried blueberries?"

"They're okay, I guess."

"Here," she dumped them into his bowl. He didn't protest. He just left.

Derek Kelby was next in line. Without asking him or otherwise engaging him in conversation, she gave him the bowl of oats. "Wha–?" he asked.

"I need to, uh, I need for these to disappear," she told him.

"Oh, um, okay." He, too, departed.

Craig came over. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"C'mon, I know it's something."

"Can I tell you later?" she asked.

"Uh, sure."

=/\=

They had finished and were cleaning up. "Well?" Craig asked.

"It's like this," she explained, "Jay liked blueberries. And Malcolm, man oh man, he swore me to secrecy on this. But I suppose I can tell you now. He, uh, he had lactose intolerance."

"Oh. Well that's not a big deal. Why was it so secret?"

"It can give you gas."

"Oh."

"And I used to," her eyes got a bit teary, "I used to set aside special things for them. It turns out I did that the last time around, too. And today I forgot, and I just did it again."

"Aw," he came closer, "Look, maybe it's feeling unreal to you again."

"I think that's, well, that's rather perceptive of you. Yanno," she added, "they both named me in their wills. And I have never looked in their quarters, either of them. Maybe I should. Maybe I should go, and have myself a really good cry, and it'll be a lot more real to me. Whaddaya think?"

"I think that's a really good idea. Do you want me to go with you once we're done cleaning up here?"

"Uh, maybe not. I think this is something I have to do by myself, okay?"

"Sure."

=/\=

After lunch, Lili approached Aidan. "I understand you're the fellow in charge of the big locks on the empty quarters."

"Yep. Of course I can't let you into Richard Daniels's old place."

"I know. I mean Malcolm and Jay's quarters," she explained.

"Okay. You were named as their heir. So, how do you wanna work this?" Aidan asked, "I need to be on the Bridge soon."

"Understood. Can you maybe assign someone else to just stick around and make sure nobody else disturbed things? And then I could finish up and we'd contact you and you'd put the locks back, that sorta thing?"

"Okay," he decided, "and I'll give you someone in Security to guard whichever room you aren't in."

"Right."

=/\=

The first room they entered was Malcolm's. It was Lili, Aidan and Ethan Shapiro. Tristan Curtis was waiting outside. "I'll just go and unlock Hayes's quarters," Aidan told them, "and Tris will guard that room. Then you'll switch once you're done in here." He left.

Ethan stood there. "Uh, what do you want me to do?"

"In all honesty, I'm not sure," she was a tad indecisive, "I really don't know what I'm doing right now." She sighed. "I bet he'd be mortified at how there are a few things out of place."

"You're probably right. But he did change his will. You think he knew something?"

"Well, he had read his old logs," Lili confirmed, "so he knew he had died on a similar mission, last time. Poor Malcolm! I'm sure he wasn't interested in _that_ sort of an instant replay."

"Of course not."

She walked over to his desk and picked up an actual paper book that was sitting there. She read off the spine, "_Jane Eyre_. Huh, who'd have thunk it? It's a sweet love story. I would have thought he would have been reading something tactical, or something."

"Maybe it was a front," Ethan offered.

Lili smiled a tiny bit. She opened the book to where his bookmark was. It was a card. "I think this is one of those cards where you can wave a PADD over it and transfer data."

Ethan came over to look. "It is. Wanna see what's on it?"

"Maybe we'll just transfer the data and I'll take a look later." She clicked her PADD on it and then put her PADD back into a zippered pocket. She peered inside the book. "He was up to the bit where Jane first meets Rochester. It's an auspicious meeting, you see."

"Got it."

Lili walked over to the small closet and looked at Malcolm's clothes. There were mostly uniforms, including a formal dress uniform that was neatly starched and ready for action. There was also a civilian style suit and two shirts that went with it, and four ties hanging from pegs.

She looked down, seeing a pair of civilian shoes, a pair of running shoes and a pair of heavy boots. And that's when she started to cry.

"What's the matter? What is it?" Ethan was solicitous.

"Oh God, the boots!"

"What? I don't understand, Lili,"

"Ethan, his light boots aren't here because, because Malcolm died wearing them."

Wordlessly, he just hugged her as she sobbed. When he felt she was ready, he nodded at her. They stood up and departed, to head to Jay's old quarters. Tristan went to guard Malcolm's old room as they did so. 

=/\=

Jay's quarters weren't much different. Just like Malcolm's, they were obsessively neat. "It's like they both had to be ready to go at a moment's notice." She looked around for the first time.

"I guess so. Were you ever in here?"

"No. And I was only in Malcolm's, sheesh, the day before, you know."

"Yeah. Take your time, Lili," Ethan's tone was comforting.

Lili browsed around the unfamiliar room. She walked into Jay's bathroom and opened his bottle of aftershave. Taking a whiff of it, she felt a pang.

She then walked over to the desk. Jay, too, had been reading a real book. It was Sun Tzu's _The Art of War_. "That's a far cry from _Jane Eyre_, eh?" She showed the book jacket to Ethan.

"I bet Lieutenant Reed read it, too," he speculated, "I mean, they were alike in a lotta ways."

"Certainly," she agreed, "but you can see differences. I mean, check this out." It was on the desk, a small block of wood that was being whittled. "I wonder what it was going to be."

"I think it's some sort of a bird." Ethan guessed, "See the triangular shape in the back? I bet that was gonna be the tail."

"The sparrow," Lili whispered quietly.

"Come again?"

"In the other iteration, he called me _Sparrow_," she explained, "It was, well, it was a pet name that was really meaningful for us."

"That's beautiful."

There was something else on the desk, shiny in the light of the desk lamp. There was a small basket and it contained two articles. Lili came closer to look. One of them was a small wooden slat, in which an _L_ had been carved. "Oh," she picked it and the other article up.

"What have you got there?"

She showed him the slat. "I wonder if he was going to glue this on something else, and give it to me."

"I bet he was. Maybe the base of the bird, I dunno. What's with the nickel?"

"This I know from my logs," she explained, "he got this nickel the first time he ever went to Earth. It's his lucky nickel."

"Does the 2012 date mean anything?" Ethan rolled the coin around in his hands.

"I don't think so. I mean, it's ninety years before his birth but otherwise, I can't come up with anything. I think he just liked it because it was kind of unassuming, much like he was."

"He was a leader, too, though."

"Definitely," she agreed, "But he also – this always struck me about him – he usually didn't take credit for things. He would just quietly stand back and let others get the recognition, or whatever. I mean, he got his promotions and stuff." She opened his top drawer and, amidst his clean cotton boxer shorts, there were medals. She lifted out one of the medals. "He most definitely got his due. But he also stepped back and was really generous with those sorts of things. He also, truly, had some troubles expressing himself. He wasn't much of a talker. He was a doer."

"You sound like you knew him better than anyone. No wonder he left you everything."

"I just kinda take from what I knew of him. He liked blueberries, and a good, rare steak. But whatever I gave him to eat, he seemed to really like."

"Lili, I think he really liked _you_. And I mean before we got kicked back here."

"Oh, I dunno." She opened up his closet. Much like in Malcolm's closet, there were a lot of regular uniforms, plus there was one perfectly pressed dress uni. But there were no civilian clothes hung up.

"He had no civvies," Ethan remarked.

"I know he had sweatpants and things like that," Lili informed him, "That stuff's probably all in his lower drawers." She rummaged around a little bit, and found something hanging on the back peg, which she didn't expect.

It was a general's uniform. But it was of an older style. "Holy cow," Ethan was in awe.

"Do you think it's the real thing? It was hanging on the back peg, the place where I put my purse."

"Definitely," his eyes grew wider, "But I bet Sekar would know for sure. _Wow_. A World War III general's uni! I wonder why he owned it." 

=/\=

After lunch, the hunting party was ready to go. Eddie Hamboyan and Dan Chang checked their phase rifles as Susie Money and Mario Lattimer retied their bootlaces. Colleen was waiting with Kerna to pilot the Ikaaran shuttle. "Where's Chef?" Colleen asked.

As if in answer to her query, Will Slocum entered the launch bay. He had on a civilian shirt and blue jeans. "What's the hold up? Let's go! Let's go!" he bellowed.

"You look different out of uniform," Colleen told him as she held the hatch open.

"You should see what I look like out of these clothes, too." He winked at her, grinning.

"Ethan Novakovich and I are together again," Colleen reported. "He's so shy," she told Susie as the other human female entered the shuttle, "I practically had to trick him by feigning I'd found a new life form in Cargo Bay Two."

"No such worries here," Susie looked over at Mario. He smiled at her and then moved over to sit next to her.

Will Slocum began to realize that the instant replay was the preferred method of choice for most of the crew, when it came to finding mates. He settled himself in for a long, boring trip to Amity, and took a nap.

"We're here, Chef," Eddie shook his shoulder as the shuttle touched down.

"Oh! What?" Will blinked a few times. He'd been in REM sleep, but whatever he had been dreaming of had evaporated, like ice cream on a hot sidewalk.

"I can't wait to go hunting," Mario said to Susie, "It's too bad there aren't any quail or pheasant."

Kerna opened the hatch. "Colleen and I will stay here. It will be safer."

Eddie got out. "Man, oh, man," he stretched, "It feels good to breathe regular air again. That little planet doesn't have enough. It must be like what breathing in the Andes is like. Uh, no offense, Kerna."

"I know you do not mean to offend," she replied, "We were just fortunate that we found that planet. But it would not have been a first choice. Ikaaria is far nicer, and I imagine Earth is as well."

"Hey, Chef!" Dan called, "You're the one who was in a rush."

"Oh, uh, just a moment." Will clicked on his PADD and tapped out a note to Sophie.

"_Beautiful Sophia,_

_When we return, I will make you a special meal. Bring your appetite._

_Fondly, Will_."

He hit _send_ and decided to hedge his bets. He tapped out another note.

"_Lovely Sandra,_

_It would be my pleasure to make you a special meal tomorrow, just you and I. Please say you will._

_Affectionately, Will_."

He hit _send_ again, figuring that, even though he had just asked two roommates out, they might mind less because it was for two different nights.

"C'mon, Chef!" Dan scolded, "We're losing daylight!" 

=/\=

In their shared quarters, Sophie and Sandra giggled a little over the notes, and compared them. "He doesn't even realize that my full name is just Sophie, and not Sophia," complained Sophie. She sighed. "I don't think he really gives a damn about either of us. He's just spraying his shots, hoping to hit something, but without any aim."

"Yeah," Sandra agreed, "I'm probably going to go with one of the MACOs or a guy on Security. Chef's being ridiculous." She deleted the note on her PADD without answering it, as did Sophie. 

=/\=

Lili sat in her quarters, thinking about Jay and Malcolm. She had Jay's lucky nickel in one hand, and the bound copy of _Jane Eyre_ in the other. "I'm beginning to understand just how happy we all were together," she whispered.

The door slid open. It was Patti. "Any news about that hunt?"

"I got nothin'," Lili shrugged after checking her PADD for messages.

"Y'know, Lili, Chef and I were together the last time. But I gotta tell ya, I think he's been avoiding me."

"I dunno."

"I've been avoiding him, too," Patti admitted. "We had an unhappy marriage, and eventually I asked for a divorce. It's a pity, the way it ended, I guess. And now we've got Ikaarans earlier than before. I bet he's going after one of them, and I'll be close to last again."

Lili looked at her, peeved. "Listen, Patti," she finally said, "I know we have to live together. And I'd like to get along. But right now I am completely bereft. I don't really wanna hear about you and Chef getting along, or not. At least he's not pulverized into atoms." She took her treasures with her and went to the galley, angry and swearing under her breath as Patti sat there, dumbfounded. 

=/\=

On the surface, Kerna kept the hatch open as she and Colleen checked various levels on the Ikaaran shuttle. Everyone else made their way onto the surface of Amity.

Will checked a phase rifle that had been given him. It was set to _stun_. He changed that to _kill_. After all, wasn't _kill_ better than _stun_?

The ground was spongy beneath their feet, the mud sucking at their boots. "It sounds like a bunch of sloppy kisses," Mario said to Susie quietly.

She looked at him intently. "_Later_."

They continued walking. There were dozens of symmetrical holes in the ground. They were perfect circles. "It's malostrea dens," Eddie explained, "I read up on them. They look like clams with a buncha legs. They've got a poison that they can deliver by clapping a shell onto skin and breaking the skin. That's how they hunt the big guys."

"You mean the procul," Dan stated, "Stun kills 'em, I understand."

Mario and Susie nodded. Will did not change the setting on his rifle. They continued along, near the shore of an ocean.

As hoped for, the big, lumbering procul began to clamber out of the water. They were squid-like in appearance, with fourteen legs, sturdy as tree trunks, and without what could reasonably be called feet. The body was an undifferentiated mass which undulated as the procul walked on land. There were no visible eyes to speak of.

The largest of the creatures reared up on what seemed to be its back legs. It rubbed two legs together. That produced a high-pitched whining sound, akin to a penny whistle. The other animals slowly ambled over to it as it changed color from celadon to rust.

As the big procul was displaying, Will could clearly see two eyespots in the middle of the underside of its body. Aiming for them, he shot the huge beast. But instead of a smooth kill as expected, it was as if a bomb had gone off within the huge invertebrate's body. It exploded into millions of fragments, hitting everything around it, including Chef.

"_Stun_ does _that_?" asked Mario.

Dan jogged over to Will. "Hey, this is set to _kill_. I checked the rifles myself before we got on the shuttle. You need to dial it back, Chef."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Crewman."

"And what the hell are you doing, killing off their leader? Now that herd might not survive!" Dan exclaimed.

"It's _fine_," Will replied between gritted teeth. "They're hermaphrodites. One of the others will step in. Now, everyone, I want you to take down the biggest ones you can find."

"No!" Dan insisted, "We gotta take only the weak and the sick. Leave some for the other group."

Will glared at him. "Might I remind you that I am the senior ranking member of this hunting party, Crewman?"

"Might I remind _you_," Chang's tone was sharp, "that you're acting like an ass?"

"That's insubordination! I never should've taken you along and given you this chance! Now get back to the shuttle and we'll discuss what I'm gonna report to Lieutenant MacKenzie when we get back."

Dan angrily glared. He saw a moderately-sized procul that appeared to be limping, and shot it. Since his weapon was on _stun_, the big beast just fell, as expected. Wordlessly, he slung the carcass over his shoulders and headed back to the shuttle.

Will pointed out the bigger procul to Susie, Mario and Eddie, but they just shot at animals that appeared to be weakened somehow. "You're all going on report," he finally said wearily. He spotted another large procul and shot it. As before, the body was atomized. But this time, there were sounds.

It was clapping and chattering, almost like applause. Susie had a procul slung over her shoulders. She walked toward the shuttle. Eddie and Mario had a larger one, and carried it between them.

Dan and Will stood there as the malostrea began to emerge from their subterranean dens. They seemed to inspect some of the pulverized remains of the procul that Will had shot, but rejected it. They turned toward Dan and Will.

"I don't like the looks of this," Dan started backing up.

"We will stay until we've got that shuttle filled with procul," Will commanded, "We don't know when we'll be able to come back here."

"We already got eight."

"And that would be fine if they were the larger ones, like I told you to get," Will was getting testy, "It's not enough."

"It's fine," Dan matched his mood, "We can come back some other time, coordinate it around the other ship's appearances here. Let's go."

"No!" Will stood his ground. 

=/\=

In the Ikaaran shuttle, the procul were piled high. "What does _malostrea_ mean, anyway?" Kerna asked.

Colleen checked a PADD. "Evil oysters."

They could all hear the clapping and chattering. "We better get back out there," Eddie advised. 

=/\=

They arrived in time to see two malostrea climbing up one of Will's pant legs. Dan aimed with his phase rifle but then held back. "Shoot the sons of bitches!" Will yelled.

"Chef, if I miss one and stun you, you'll go down like a sack of potatoes. And then they'll all be able to climb on you!"

"Hurry!" Will yelled.

Susie came over. With the butt of her rifle, she knocked one of the malostrea off, but then another one started climbing on _her_.

Mario came over and, without a thought to his own personal safety, grabbed the back of the shell of the malostrea that was climbing on Susie. He managed to pry it off her. He flung it as far away as he could.

Eddie tried to do the same for Will, but the malostrea kept darting and turning.

"We gotta get back to the ship," Dan ended up crunching a malostrea underfoot as he turned.

Another push with a rifle butt got the remaining malostrea off Will's ankle, but then another one climbed up. It moved more quickly than the others had, and it must have been angry, for it did not hesitate, and it clamped down on Will's calf.

He did not call out. Instead, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and, just as Dan had predicted, he sank like a rock.

"Oh my God!" Susie yelled. She grabbed Will's legs as Eddie got his head. Dan and Mario followed behind. As quickly as they could, they raced to the shuttle.

"Gun it!" yelled Dan as they got in and Mario sealed the hatch. The clapping and chattering could still be heard outside as they took off.

"I can empathically heal," Kerna told them, "but not most poisons. And not while I am piloting, to be sure. Switch with me, Eddie."

Eddie got up to trade places with her so that she could at least make the effort. "Anybody know if we can do a standard field snakebite remedy?" he asked.

"You mean suck out the poison?" Mario asked. He flipped open his communicator. "Sick Bay, Lattimer here. We got a man with a malostrea bite. Can we suck out the poison?"

Phlox answered. "No, use a knife and cut out the affected area. I'll tell Commander Tucker to stand by at the transporter. Keep me posted. Phlox out."

"Stay with me, Chef," Susie said to Will as Mario cut a chunk out of the injured man's calf. There was no time to clean a knife or any other niceties. Blood flowed as Mario tied a makeshift tourniquet on. Worriedly, Susie added, "I think he's going into shock."

Mario produced a blanket from the back of the shuttle. They covered up Will. He felt the injured man's forehead. "He's got a fever, too, I think."

"C'mon, Will," Susie encouraged, "make believe you're, you're frying something, okay?" Kerna placed her unwashed hands on him, right on his bloody wound, and there was a glowing inside her hands that spread up her arm. But then the glow ping-ponged around her body, trying and failing to find purchase. She shook her head – she could not help him. 

=/\=

On the _Enterprise_, Tripp and José raced to the transporter. "We need to boost power," Tucker commanded, "Give it everything we've got."

"Right," José replied, "rerouting power now."

"Almost in range, almost," Tripp checked a display. "_Now_!"

José worked the controls and, as Tripp stood by and Phlox rushed over, Will Slocum materialized on the transporter pad. But it was too late, and he took a half a gasping, wheezing breath.

Phlox applied emergency cardiostimulators, but it just wasn't enough. "I cannot revive this man," the Denobulan shook his head, "There is nothing I can do." 

=/\=

In the landing bay, the Ikaaran shuttle was brought in quickly, bumping as it landed. Without waiting to get their cargo out, everyone raced to Sick Bay. But they only found Andrew in there. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Where's Chef?" asked Colleen.

"What? Phlox just called me, told me to cover."

"The transporter!" Dan exclaimed.

The six of them ran over, just in time to see Phlox rise from a kneeling position. "I'll have to perform an autopsy to be certain," he stated, "but I am about ninety percent positive that Chef Slocum succumbed to acute tricoulamine poisoning."

"My God," Colleen gasped as she arrived, "it was, oh God, it wasn't even a big bite."

"Those suckers pack a punch," Eddie said.

"It's just like Hayes and Reed, and Harris and Haynem," Dan stated, "He was unprepared. And that gets you killed around here." 

=/\=

In the galley, Lili grumbled to herself as she started to chop vegetables for that night's dinner. It would be procul and … something. The door slid open.

It was Patti. "I'm sorry," she stated, "I kinda put my foot in my mouth about, about stuff. Friends?"

"Sure," Lili shook Patti's proffered hand.

The door slid open again. It was Brian. "You're early," Lili observed.

"And so are you," he replied. 

=/\=

On the Bridge, Hoshi reported, "Urgent message for you, Captain. It's from Commander Tucker."

"I'll take it in my Ready Room." Captain Archer bounded into the little room.

"Cap'n," Tripp reported, "we had a fatality. Come to the transporter."

"That damned machine!"

"No, Cap'n. Phlox tells me it's from a bite from one of the clam fellers on the surface."

"Malostrea," Phlox interjected.

"Who?" asked Jonathan.

"It was Chef, sir."

"Captain," Phlox stated, "I have taken the liberty of sending the remainder of the hunting party to Sick Bay, as a precaution. Someone will need to unload the shuttle's cargo."

"Understood," replied Captain Archer, "I'll be right there." He closed the connection and opened the door to the Ready Room. "T'Pol, please keep command for a while longer. Hoshi, contact Julie McKenzie. Tell her to get a half a dozen MACOs to offload the cargo from the Ikaaran shuttle and bring it to the galley."

"Right away, sir," Hoshi replied. T'Pol nodded.

He sighed. "There was a casualty. Chef Slocum is dead. No one else was injured; at least we don't think so. Doctor Phlox has the rest of the hunting party in Sick Bay. Where are Patti Socorro and Lili O'Day?"

"Patti isn't on duty right now," Travis stated, "She might be in quarters."

"It might be early for starting supper," Aidan speculated, "So my guess is quarters for O'Day, or else the galley."

"Okay." The captain departed. 

=/\=

They weren't in their shared quarters, so he went to the galley. "I'm glad I found you both here."

"Captain?" Patti asked.

Lili took one look at Jonathan's face. "We'd better both sit down. I get the feeling this is bad news."

Captain Archer nodded. "Chef Slocum is dead," he didn't give any preamble, "We'll see what his last wishes were, but I suspect you should both be considered to be his next of kin if he hasn't designated anybody."

The door slid open. It was Craig, who looked pale. He immediately explained, "I walked by the transporter in order to get here. I saw." The captain nodded.

Brian stated, "I guess Lili's the chef now."

Lili sat there, a bit nonplussed. "I, I don't know what to say."

"Yes," the captain confirmed, "I know the timing is abysmal, but you're promoted to Lieutenant Commander."

"Huh. I, uh, I need a sous-chef," she glanced over at Craig and Brian, "and they should be promoted to an Ensign's rank."

"Which one?" asked the captain.

"Can it be both?" she asked.

"I don't see any reason why not."

"We'll, uh, we'll make something Italian," Lili decided, "Chef Slocum is – was, God, _was_ – half-Italian. Patti, do you have a preference?"

"I dunno, maybe pizza?" Patti had been a little shell-shocked. It was the first thing she had said since hearing the awful news.

"Pizza it is," Lili decided. Together, she and her new sous-chefs started getting everything ready as somber MACOs brought in the fruits of that day's fatal labors. 

=/\=

_Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, November second, 2037_

_God knows I never wanted to be promoted this way. I'll get debriefed in all sorts of ways, I know. I'll get all the secret codes. I'm Malcolm's rank, suddenly. Oh, how I wish he had lived to see that!_

_There have been too many changes in my life, and far, far too many deaths. Please, God, ease up a little, all right?_

=/\=

_Patti Socorro's Personal Log, November second, 2037_

_I guess it shouldn't matter so much to me, but it does. We were unhappy last time. He was not coming around. I already looked at his logs and he was trying to get with Sophie anyway._

_But I can't help feeling saddened. Part of it is because Will didn't deserve to go that way. Nobody does._

_But it's also selfish. I also wonder – what becomes of me now?_

=/\=

_José Torres's Personal Log, November second, 2037_

_If I had only been faster._

=/\=

_Charles Tucker III's Personal Log, November second, 2037_

_I swear I am going to beat T'Pol over the head if I have to. Life is short. Regrets are long. I don't wanna die alone like Chef Slocum did._


	15. Consequences

Chapter 15 – Consequences

"_Ian?"_

"_Yes, Lili?"_

"_I haven't seen you in a while. Why is that?"_

"_Partly it's because you've mostly been better. But it's also, can I tell you something?"_

"_Sure."_

"_It's that I get a great deal of pleasure out of being with you. And I suppose it's more than is permitted."_

"_Permitted? Huh, what's the Head Honcho like?"_

"_I beg your pardon?"_

"_You know … God."_

"_I have no idea. Or if there even is one, or two, or any, for that matter."_

"_You're in the afterlife and you don't know?" she laughed a little at that._

"_This plane is somewhat independent, it seems. We call it the afterworld. I suppose that's why we have houses and the like. We all, we take care of one another."_

"_Even the wicked?"_

_There was silence for a while. "Yes. Even me."_

_She groped in the darkness and put a hand on his chin. She remembered – he didn't want her to touch the upper part of his face at all. "You're redeemable."_

"_Yes. And if I am, then I suppose almost everyone is."_

"_That's very comforting. You're doing a very good job with all this comforting business, yanno."_

"_All I want to do is to, to take care of you a bit. I have never wanted to take care of anyone before. I never wanted to see anyone comforted or happy. This is a very new experience for me. You will let me know if I'm doing it wrong, yes?"_

"_Yes. Oh, and Ian?"_

"_Hmm?  
><em>

_She put her arms around his neck and they awkwardly embraced again. "This is good."_

"_I'm relieved," he whispered softly, touching her hair with his lips very, very slightly, terrified that she would feel it or that it would, again, be going too far, and he would be temporarily kept from her again._

=/\=

"T'Pol! T'Pol!" Tripp called. The Vulcan turned. "Wait up a sec, please." He rushed to her side. The eyebrow was raised. "I wanted to know, see, uh, whaddaya say 'bout giving this another chance." She stopped. "You 'n me, that is."

"Commander," she stated, "This is neither the time, nor is it the place."

It was early, and they were walking on B deck, which was otherwise deserted. There were three empty single cabins – Jay's, Malcolm's and Will's. Aidan was a Lieutenant Commander, and could have had a cabin on that deck, but he was married and so he and Jennifer were on E deck, even though she was not yet pregnant.

As for Lili, she, too, could have claimed a cabin in prime real estate, but she had said that she felt funny about the whole thing, so she stayed on C deck, and Patti Socorro was still her roommate. Another reason for Lili's staying put was the fact that her moving in would have meant commandeering Malcolm's or Jay's cabin, and she wasn't ready to do that just yet.

As for the other denizens of B deck, they just weren't there.

"It is _never_ the time," Tripp complained, a little sharply, "'cause you never let me see ya! As for the place," they were standing just outside of Jay's old quarters, "I don't think the ghosts are talkin'."

She looked away. "To take up our relationship again would be," she cast about for the right word, "not preferable."

"You 'n me, we're good together! We raised two beautiful kids! We loved each other. What's not preferred about _that_?"

"Please understand, and try to comprehend the length of my widowhood."

He carefully took her hand. "I know," he ventured, "it was a good ninety years. I get that it was a really long time. And I get – even if you won't quite share that detail – that it was painful. But if we get together earlier, we can be together more, right? I mean, can't you see the logic in _that_?" Lips trembling, she just stood there. "I know you don't wanna be hurt," Tripp said, "and believe me, if I could spare you that, I would. But life doesn't exist without hurt. Let's not compound that with regrets, too."

She had nothing to say to that and, instead, kissed him passionately.

=/\=

Jonathan Archer went into his Ready Room for a moment before the regular shift was to start. He glanced over notes and reports. "Reports seem a little silly right now," he told Porthos, "but we write them anyway. I guess it's part of what keeps discipline from breaking down, eh?"

The dog did not whine or even lift or tilt his head, as he normally did. That was odd. The captain came closer, and petted Porthos, who seemed to be warmer than usual, and his fur seemed to be a tad dirty. "Hmm, maybe you need a bath."

That would have normally gotten the dog's attention, but Porthos just lay there. "Cheese? Do you want to talk about cheese?" Even that failed to get the beagle to even raise his head.

"Oh God," Jonathan cried out, flipping open his communicator. "Sick Bay, medical emergency! I think Porthos is really sick."

"Bring him over. Phlox out."

Jonathan picked up the dog, who whined a little bit, as if the act were painful. "Please be okay, please be okay," he whispered. He got the door to the Bridge to slide open. T'Pol was just arriving. "T'Pol, take command. We're going to Sick Bay." He dashed out, Porthos in his arms, before the Vulcan could respond.

Every means of locomotion seemed to be far too slow. They were flying around at God knows how many kilometers per hour, yet the lift seemed to be taking forever.

They were finally on E deck. The Sick Bay doors slid open. Phlox was present. Crewman Chang was seated on one of the bio beds. Andy Miller was close by.

"Here, let's see what the trouble is," Doctor Phlox murmured. Jonathan gently laid the dog onto the scanner bed. "I'm sorry for the delay, Crewman."

"That's okay," Chang glanced over, "the little guy doesn't look so good."

Andy turned to Dan. "Here, lemme practice." He ran a small scanner over Chang's left temple. "The headache isolated here?"

"Yeah. But shouldn't you be helping Porthos? I swear I can wait."

"We need to wait for the scan," Andrew explained, "Here, looks like you've got, uh, pulsing. I'm guessing this is from a little eye strain. Do you get that?"

"Yeah, I do, sometimes. What's happening with the little fellow?" his patient asked.

Phlox reversed the bed out of the scanner. "It appears that Porthos's body is rejecting the pituitary gland transplant I gave him in 2152."

"Can't you give him another transplant?" asked Captain Archer, an edge of desperation in his voice.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have another Calrissian chameleon," Phlox replied.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" This time, it was Chang asking. Jonathan gave him a bit of a look, so Dan added, "I'm an animal lover. Hell, I get on with 'em better than I do most people. I know I haven't been the greatest of crew members but I don't," his voice broke a little; "I don't wanna see the little guy suffer."

"Is there anything?" asked the captain.

"I'll need to think about this," Phlox replied.

The doors slid open. It was two of the Ikaaran women – Esilia and Izquilla. "Oh!" Izquilla exclaimed once she saw them in there, "We could return later."

"Wait, is there maybe something I can help you with?" Andy asked.

"A visit," she replied. "But we will wait. It is not urgent. Can we, oh, I wish we were more similar. But there is no way that we could possibly empathically heal him, I think."

There was a communications chime. Andrew hit the wall panel. "Sick Bay, Miller here."

"I must speak with the captain," It was T'Pol.

Jonathan gave the dog a scratch behind the ears and came over. "Go ahead."

"Someone is attempting to open the external doors in the shuttle bay."

"Lock them out!" commanded the captain.

"It's this deck," Chang realized, "I'll go." Before anyone could stop him, he had run out. 

=/\=

In the Observation Lounge, Kerna and Dakiza sat with Timinka. Lemnestra was pacing a little. "It's gone!" she yelled, panicking.

"What's gone? Where?" Timinka asked.

"The quatromenaline! Our stocks are down to nothing!"

"We can get more from Doctor Phlox," Dakiza pointed out calmly.

"It does not matter as much as the fact that there is a thief. But who would do such a thing to us?" Kerna asked, "We need that medicine to slow down _the decline_."

"Our fellow Ikaarans have motive enough," Timinka stated.

"True, but we would find them out," Dakiza noted, "They cannot hide on the ship for very long."

Lemnestra looked up in horror. "We must get to the launch bay. Verinold means to leave the ship!" 

=/\=

In the launch bay, Chang saw Verinold attempt to maneuver the Ikaaran shuttle. Not being an experienced pilot, he was not very good at bringing the small craft around. Dan got close, knocking hard on the hatch. "Cut it out!" he yelled.

Verinold ignored him. Finally, there was an opening, and the area depressurized. Dan pounded on the hatch, now in desperation. "What are ya doin'!" he yelled, "Ya gonna become a killer?"

There was a rush as the shuttle took off, and his body was dragged along with it, to the vacuum of deep space. Death for Daniel Chang was very nearly instantaneous. 

=/\=

_A moment elapsed and a new vista opened up to him, in clear focus. Dan looked around, unsure of how to proceed, until he heard voices calling for him.  
><em>

=/\=

Jonathan hollered into his communicator. "Julie! Bring a team to the launch bay! Someone's trying to launch a shuttle!"

"Right away!" she replied from the MACO training facility. Gary Hodgkins, Neil Kemper and Brad Moreno grabbed phase rifles and followed her out. 

=/\=

On the Bridge, T'Pol commanded, "There is the Ikaaran shuttle. Lieutenant, deploy the grappler. Ensign Sato, hail them."

Hoshi tried as Aidan brought the grappler on line. "No response," she announced.

"Can you get us any closer, Travis?" Aidan asked.

"Sure thing." Travis brought the _Enterprise_ closer to the little shuttle.

"Deploying now," Aidan announced. He was able to score a direct grab, and began to reel in the Ikaaran shuttle. 

=/\=

In Sick Bay, Jonathan looked over at Porthos. "Aw, buddy, how are ya doing?" He bent over, close to the dog, who was very nearly still. "Is he in any pain?"

"I don't believe so," Phlox stated, "Here, I can give him a derivative of quatromenaline. That should ease the symptoms a bit." He rummaged around. "That's odd, but my stocks are very nearly depleted."

"Oh no," the captain moaned, "That tells me who our shuttle thief is. Or, at least, I've got a good idea." He glanced over at Izquilla and Esilia. "Did you know anything about this?" They shook their heads. "Right now, I just have to say, that had better be the truth." 

=/\=

The MACOs arrived in the launch bay as the Ikaaran shuttle was being tucked back in. They surrounded the craft as soon as the area repressurized.

"All right," Julie McKenzie called out, "whoever you are, that was mightily stupid of you." 

=/\=

On the Bridge, Aidan saw it first. "Hoshi?" he asked, "I'm seeing some debris out there."

"Wait, I'll magnify." Once the scene on the viewer had been magnified, she gasped, "My God! That's Dan Chang's body!" 

=/\=

The hatch finally opened. Neil and Brad grabbed Verinold by his arms. "We got no place to put you but the Brig. Come on," Julie commanded sharply. They marched him out of there as the depressurization alarms tripped again, and Aidan used the grappler to retrieve Dan's corpse. 

=/\=

In Sick Bay, Captain Archer was kept informed via communicator. "So he's in the Brig?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Julie reported, "And Moreno and Kemper are now guarding the Ikaaran shuttle."

"Thank you. Archer out."

Gary Hodgkins came in, carrying a large bag. "Where do I put this?"

"That rather depends on what it is," Phlox replied.

"It's a bunch of shots and containers of something. I guess it's medicine. Verinold had it in the Ikaaran shuttle with him."

"Ah, my quatromenaline," Phlox said, "Put it there." He indicated a counter and began to prepare an injection for Porthos.

The doors swished open. It was Lemnestra, with Kerna, Dakiza and Timinka right behind her. "Captain," Lemnestra stated, "I must tell you something."

"Yes?" Jonathan asked as Phlox administered a small dose of quatromenaline to Porthos.

"I am sorry about what happened. Verinold mentioned to me that he wanted to depart. And he certainly wanted all of the quatromenaline you had. My impression was that he wished to take all of us with him. I did not realize he was so ruthless that he meant to abandon us."

"That doesn't make me feel too much better," replied the captain wearily.

"I, I know. And I should have mentioned something when he first began talking to me about it. That was my error. I have been taught, all my life, to be loyal. But to be loyal to one so cruel, it is wrong."

The doors opened again. This time it was Frank Todd and Amanda Cole, carrying Chang's lifeless body. "A crewman is dead because of this," Captain Archer had a reproach in his tone.

"Punish me, then," Lemnestra declared, "and I will go gladly, and with neither struggle nor protest. Punish me as well, for I have compounded this wrong, and I feel horribly responsible." 

=/\=

After a few more hours in Sick Bay, Phlox looked at the captain. "There is nothing else I can do. His vital systems are all shutting down."

It was just Jonathan in Sick Bay, except for Phlox and Andrew. The Ikaarans had departed long before, with Lemnestra voluntarily confining herself to their makeshift quarters. "Can I hold him, one last time?" asked Jonathan.

"Of course," Phlox turned away slightly.

Jonathan approached the bio bed and gently picked up Porthos. "Just rest, buddy. Where you're going, there will be walks and belly rubs and cheese every day. I love you. I hope I've done right by you."

"No one could have done better, Captain," assured Andy, "nobody."

The dog gazed up at his master one last time, looking lovingly. He thumped his tail once, and that was it. 

=/\=

_And in another place, he heard a whistle, and wagged his tail, running in the direction of the whistle, where every smell was a good smell.  
><em>

=/\=

The news traveled quickly throughout the ship. At dinner, Lili quietly served with Craig and Brian, and there wasn't the usual chatter. The meal was a quiet tribute of mock crab cakes to remember Chang and macaroni and cheese in honor of Porthos.

"Christmas won't be Christmas without Porthos," Lili's tone was somber as José Torres stood in front of her with his plate.

"I wish we could somehow get another dog," Craig sighed, "or lots of them. I know it's not the same. I don't mean to just up and replace Porthos or anything like that. I just mean the place is suddenly so empty without him. And Chang! I guess he finally had a chance to be a real hero."

"We are very sorry for your losses," Esilia was sympathetic, "And it is to our undying shame as to how Crewman Chang met his end. Even a difficult person did not deserve an ending such as that."

"No," José replied, "this isn't turning out well at all." 

=/\=

_Esilia's Personal Log, December first, 2037_

_With Verinold disgraced, and Lemnestra distraught, I suppose I am our leader now. We have done much that is wrong. We must make it up to them somehow._

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, December first, 2037_

_There's almost nothing I can say. How can I write about Porthos, my best buddy? I looked at the records. Last time, he lived into the 2040s. It all fells so sudden. It hurts so much._

=/\=

_José Torres's Personal Log, December first, 2037_

_Craig is right. What's a star ship without a dog? I'm gonna work on this problem. I hate seeing everyone so sad all the time. We need some good news around here, for once._

=/\=

_Doctor Phlox's Personal Log, December first, 2037_

_Learning that the Ikaarans have some empathic healing abilities is certainly helpful. They have informed me that it only works if they are similar to the patient. For a beagle, for example, the differences are generally far too great._

_I have investigated records from the previous iteration and I have confirmed this. Good for humans, in some ways – particularly for our musculo-skeletal systems. But their abilities are no good for quadrupeds, unfortunately. And that is a shame._

_When I first joined the Enterprise as the CMO, I saw Porthos as being little more than a laboratory specimen. But he grew on me, and I am finding that I am reacting with extremely deep emotions upon the occasion of his passing. _

_Is it possible for a non-sentient being to truly be a friend? I suspect, no, I know, that it is._


	16. To Whom these Presents Come, Greetings!

Chapter 16 - To Whom these Presents Come, Greetings!

The idea to get more dogs circulated throughout the ship. At first, the captain was in mourning. Then he was apprehensive. Waffling a bit on the decision, he called a meeting of the senior staff, even though it was Christmas.

Lili wheeled in a cart with snacks and sodas. "You don't have to do that anymore. The serving, that is," Jonathan told her. It was just the two of them.

"Oh, it's no trouble," she explained, "don't tell anybody, but most of these are leftovers I'm trying to get rid of."

"Aha."

The others filed in and sat down. "Who's on duty?" asked the captain.

"Karin Bernstein is holding command," reported T'Pol, "Diana Jones is at the Science station. Ethan Shapiro is at Tactical. Maryam Haroun is at Communications, and Colleen Romanov is piloting."

"Jenny Crossman MacKenzie's in Engineering," reported Tripp.

"I've got Frank Todd in temporary command of the MACOs, sir," reported Julie.

"And Andrew Miller is in Sick Bay," reported Doctor Phlox.

"All right, let's get down to business," began Captain Archer, "I've had a few people talk to me about dogs."

"An excursion to Earth risks all manner of temporal contaminations," T'Pol pointed out.

"Not necessarily," Aidan stated, "what about taking the Ikaaran shuttle? It can be cloaked."

"It's also as slow as molasses," Travis complained, "It'll take forever to get there and back."

"Actually, I've been runnin' that problem over in my mind for a while now," Tripp mused, "and Dakiza and I've got an idea. We ran it by Lemnestra and she thinks it could work."

"Oh?" asked the captain.

"Yeah, I, um," Tripp looked a little apologetic, "I miss the little guy. And I kinda wanna do something to honor Chang's memory, too. I mean, we all know his history, both now and in the other iteration. But he gave his life so's we could keep that Ikaaran shuttle. It'd be a cryin' shame not to use it. It, uh, it cost too much to just let it sit in the bay."

"So you've been thinking about this a lot, I see," mused the captain.

"Yes," Tripp allowed, "and it's like this. Actually, can Lemnestra and Dakiza join us? I think they might be able to explain it better than I can."

"All right. Hoshi?" asked Jonathan.

"Right away."

"While we're waiting, let's talk about our food stores, Shelby?"

"Yes, well, we're doing pretty well with growing food on that planet. Can we name it at some point? I bet I'm not the only one who's getting a little sick of just calling it '_that planet'_," she pointed out.

"We'll run a contest," the captain suggested.

"All right," Shelby continued, "Sandra and Tristan are good at managing the crops. We're fine with most things. We even have space in case we ever want or need to build settlements."

"That's wonderful news," replied the captain.

"Meat is a lot more problematic," stated Lili, "Craig tells me that the programs for replicating chicken and shrimp were already done by the other version of the _NX-01_. We faked the crab cakes by using replicated shrimp and breadcrumbs, and extra salt and bay seasoning."

"I don't remember noticing anything off," reported Aidan. There were murmurs of agreement.

"Well, I appreciate that," answered Lili, "but _I _knew they were off. Anyway, we've got very little real variety. Sure, I can dress it up anyway you please, but it all boils down to just being either replicator shrimp or replicator chicken. I mean, it's Christmas and I have turkeys, but this will be the last year for that unless we do something drastic."

"We could just have shrimp and chicken, right?" asked Travis.

"Travis," Lili looked him squarely in the eye, "do you really want me to tell you when you've had your last real burger, _ever_?"

"What?" he asked.

"We'll run out of beef in two years, by my reckoning. Within five, we'll be done with sausage, bacon, ham and salmon. Craig tells me that efforts were made to replicate all of these, but with varying levels of success. I imagine the other _NX-01_ got a lot less picky as the years dragged on, particularly after Chef Slocum and I passed. Or maybe they just forgot what real tuna and cod taste like, because those are also going to be all gone in about six years. Once our generation is gone, I guess it didn't matter quite so much, but it sure as hell matters now, I'd say."

Tripp made a face. "Just shrimp and chicken, eh? Can't you get Willets to do more with the replicator? I can get him help, if you like, maybe Torres."

"Believe me, he's trying," Lili reported, "but in the meantime, if we could get other meat, we'd be able to stretch everything. It would really help."

"That means hunting procul," Aidan concluded.

"Out of the question," Captain Archer's tone was one of finality, "that's how Chef died."

The doors swished open, and Dakiza and Lemnestra arrived. The once-proud Ikaaran Science Officer bowed her head in respect. The captain greeted them and then explained, "We're just now working on settling something about our food stocks. I don't think this will take too much longer."

"No trouble," Dakiza assured them.

"Yanno," Sekar added, "the only reason Chef died was because of a malostrea bite. But the procul themselves are perfectly harmless. It seems a shame to give up on them, particularly when we have the means of getting to Amity."

"What if we brought the procul to us?" asked Lili.

"Come again?" Tripp asked.

"Bring over a herd of, I dunno, twenty of them, and plunk them down on that planet."

"Aren't they vegetarians?" Shelby asked, "Tris and Sandra would have their hands full keeping them out of our food crops, or we'd have to assign a few crew members to do that. I don't know about personnel reserves but we've already lost people. I dunno if we can spare anyone for that kind of detail. And it would be 24/7, right?"

"Plus there's no real ocean there," Travis pointed out, "it's just ponds. Can they live if there's no ocean?"

"Couldn't dogs herd the procul away from the crops?" Hoshi asked, "You know, like they do with sheep."

"These dogs," Dakiza asked, "are they like your beloved Porthos?"

"A bit," Jonathan confirmed, fighting to avoid getting a little misty-eyed, "But he was a hound. Those are used for hunting. Herding dogs tend to be larger."

"I see," asked Dakiza, "are they anywhere but your Earth right now?"

"No," reported T'Pol, "therefore, any attempts to obtain more of these animals would be far too difficult. The risk of cultural and temporal contamination is far too great."

"You cannot deny," Phlox said, of all people, "that crew morale has suffered since Porthos's demise. I have been reading more and more of my notes from the other iteration and make no mistake about it – crew morale suffered in all sorts of ways. And that was a crew that did not see most of its first casualties until the 2050s, whereas this version has already experienced six – seven if you count Porthos."

"Let me know what you're proposing," said the captain, "before we all start making up our minds one way or the other."

"Lemnestra," Tripp encouraged, "tell the cap'n what you told me about the thermobaric cloud barrier."

"Yes," she wrung her hands and looked uncomfortable at addressing Captain Archer directly, "the thermobaric clouds are likely to be less dense than in 2154, when you first entered the Delphic Expanse. Furthermore, there are ways of collecting fuel from them."

"Fuel?" asked Travis.

"It's got quite a kick to it, too," reported Tripp.

"Yes," Lemnestra confirmed, "It is very powerful."

"Then why don't you use it in your shuttle?" asked Aidan.

"We have used it there," confirmed Dakiza, "but it can compromise the cloaking mechanism if it is overused. Plus, once we had crash-landed, we could not obtain any more, of course."

"I wonder why the earlier version didn't share this information with us," mused the captain.

"It is possible that they did not think your vessel could handle the compounds. I do not wish to think that they believed they could not trust you with this data," Dakiza commented.

"I don't know," Captain Archer filed that information away for later.

"See," Tripp explained, "they collect the actual clouds themselves. You recall the gas that was getting into our vents? There's fuel in there. It's the hexafluorine."

"It is a raw material," Dakiza explained, "so it would need to be worked on. But if it were properly refined, it could provide either your vessel or our shuttle with considerably more speed."

"The method is kinda similar to how we refined trellium," Tripp explained.

"Captain," Lemnestra volunteered, "I would like to work on this project. Even if you decide not to venture to Earth, it may still be of some assistance to you. And, for me, I pray that you will permit me this small shot at redemption."

"I bet that's where Verinold was headed," Sekar mused.

"Most likely," Tripp agreed, "the increase in speed could be significant."

"How significant are we talking about?" asked Captain Archer.

"Warp Six for the _Enterprise_, I think," replied the engineer. "Not so sure about the Ikaaran shuttle, but anything's better'n what it currently does."

"We'd be able to outrun most other species' ships, I bet," Travis speculated.

"Pursuing this alternate source of energy is a logical course of action," T'Pol stated, "however, returning to Earth remains a risky proposition at best."

"I know enough about the history of that time," Shelby explained, "that I know they didn't have much of anything out there, up in space. There was a mission to Mars, and they went to the moon a few times. But most of the time, people were concentrating on their troubles on Earth."

"We could hide on the other side of Jupiter," Travis suggested.

"And then we could send the Ikaaran shuttle out, cloaked," Aidan added.

The Vulcan eyebrow was raised. "And then? How would you obtain a large number of dogs and not contaminate the timeline?"

"Huh," the captain mused, "we'd need animals that were about to die. And that wouldn't do us any good. Plus we're still stuck with the problem of drawing too much attention to ourselves in getting them."

They all thought for a moment. "Actually, I know of a place where there would be lots and lots of dogs, just about ready to die," Lili reported, "and they wouldn't be sick, or old, or hurt, or anything."

"What is this magical place?" Phlox asked.

"The live market in any Asian or Southeast Asian city," replied the chef, "See, when I was in Cooking School, we learned about everything – and I mean _everything_ – that people eat or used to eat, and how it was grown, slaughtered, cooked, whatever."

"_Dog_?" Travis asked.

"Yes," Hoshi confirmed, "There were definitely people who ate dog."

"Assuming you could travel to Seoul or Beijing or another such city and land undetected," T'Pol allowed, "What then?"

"I could make era-appropriate garb," Sekar offered, "But money would be needed."

Lili unconsciously patted a zipped pocket on her left wrist, where Jay's lucky nickel was. "Can we replicate it, do you think?"

"Probably not too terribly convincingly," Tripp stated, "You just got done finishin' tellin' us that Willets couldn't make decent beef 'n beer, remember? But I bet we could barter somethin'."

"That could work," Aidan agreed, "Those folks needed pretty much everything, so even a supply of copper or tin might be sufficient."

"And your pretext?" T'Pol pressed the point.

"I have – or, rather, Jay did – an old World War III general's uni," Lili explained, "if it's authentic, maybe it could be used somehow."

"I can check," offered Sekar.

"So we got a general goin' to the live market?" Tripp asked.

"Maybe he could be interested in exotic foods," Shelby thought out loud, "We can do this, we can think up something. Hell, let's ask the rest of the crew. I don't want this to be pretext by committee but I bet there are good ideas out there. Sir, we should go to Earth, even if we fail at getting dogs. We should go because it will give us all a lift like nothing else ever would. _Please_?"

"Let's vote," commanded Jonathan. "Travis?"

"I vote yes if we can hide well and come up with a really good pretext."

"Fair enough," replied the captain, "Shelby?"

"Yes, and without reservations."

"Lili?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I think this honors Jay's memory."

"Tripp?"

"I think it's an interestin' challenge. And I think it could honor Chang's memory as well."

"Aidan?"

"Only if we really limit the number of people, and we only go once. Otherwise, I figure we run too much of a risk of cultural contamination."

"Phlox?"

"I believe this excursion would improve crew morale considerably. And its product will sustain morale for months if not longer. Furthermore, the addition of procul meat to our diets will be helpful, for both morale and nutritional purposes."

"Sekar?"

"I mainly want to see if we can do it." The Vulcan eyebrow was raised so he hastily added, "I don't want to lose this opportunity. It would be such a shame."

"T'Pol?"

"We must do everything we can in order to minimize the risks of cultural contamination. Only a minimal number of persons would be allowed to go, and for a limited amount of time."

"So you're saying yes?" asked Captain Archer.

"Captain," she stated, "I cannot, as you would say, _buck this trend_."

=/\=

After the meeting, Lili led Aidan and Sekar to Jay's old quarters. Aidan got the huge magnetic lock off the door. "Ladies first," he gestured.

She opened up Jay's closet and reached in, for the old general's uni. His aroma hit her nose, and she felt a pang. "I could swear you were here," she murmured.

"Hmm?" Sekar asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Here it is." She presented it to him.

"Oh, this is spectacular!" He gushed, "And I could use this material!"

"No, no," she implored, "I don't want you to cut it in any way. _Please_."

"I am sorry," he stepped back, "perhaps I was overly enthusiastic."

"Is it the real deal?" asked Aidan.

Sekar picked up the hem of one of the pant legs and inspected it closely. Then he checked the sleeves. "The piecework is certainly consistent with the techniques of the period, from maybe a decade before now," reported the Quartermaster, "I'm about ninety percent sure it's authentic."

"That's great;" enthused Aidan, "but who's gonna wear it?"

"Somebody older," Lili suggested, "I don't think anyone's gonna buy a young guy having a general's rank."

"Right," Aidan replied absently, "so Del is out of the question."

"He's too short, anyway," said Sekar, "since you don't want me to alter these garments in any way, it will need to be someone who can fit into them perfectly, or at least close enough that it would not look odd."

Aidan tried on the jacket, but it was too tight in the back. Sekar tried it and, for him, it was too long in the sleeves. "Sleeves are tricky," he said, "pant legs can be faked much more readily, whether too long or too short. Hence we will need to first find our shipmates who can fit into the jacket. Then we can select from that pool of candidates."

There was a communications chime. "Oh! That's me!" Lili flipped open her communicator. "O'Day here."

"How's it coming?" asked Captain Archer.

"The uni is authentic," Sekar said, "but we will need to determine who can fit into it fairly closely. The jacket will be trickier but it is much more vital. We are going with no alterations."

"Understood. We'll also need to think of our best people for this mission," said Jonathan, "I respect T'Pol's desire to keep the number of travelers to a minimum, so people will probably have to do double duty. Hoshi is a given, as are you, Lieutenant Commander O'Day."

"Me?"

"Yes," he said, "you're the best person to go to that live market and haggle. I am thinking that the pretext would be that you're the general's wife, and Hoshi would be your interpreter."

"I suppose that could work," Lili allowed.

"Captain," Aidan suggested, "maybe we could have all of the guys try on the jacket tonight. You know, kinda like a bit of Christmas entertainment. You don't mind, do ya, Lili?"

"Long as it doesn't get torn or stained."

"Then we'll do that," agreed the captain, "Archer out."

"You hold onto the pants for now," Lili decided, "and I guess whoever fits into the jacket can try on the pants at your work station. You got any idea about what I'll wear?"

"I am thinking something a bit elegant, but faded," Sekar said, after studying her face for a moment, "this is a time of want. Everyone was struggling."

"I leave it to you," she said, as they left Jay's old quarters. She took one last melancholic look before Aidan got the door closed and replaced the huge magnetic lock.

=/\=

Christmas was a celebration of togetherness, more than anything else. Sekar presented Doctor Phlox with a red velvet jacket with fake white fur trim, and a matching Santa hat. "What am I to do with these articles?" inquired the Denobulan.

"You'll play Father Christmas," Sekar said.

Colleen and Shelby were wearing little green elf costumes. They approached him. "Let's get you all set up, Saint Nick," Colleen said. They put on the jacket and the hat. "There!"

"And what else do I do?" he asked.

"Lili says there are peppermint and strawberry candy canes. Colleen and I'll hand them out," Shelby offered, "and your job is to listen to what everyone wants for presents. And, uh, be jolly and occasionally let out a '_ho, ho, ho_!' Got it?"

"Ho, ho, ho?" Phlox asked.

"Say it like you mean it," Colleen explained.

"_Ho, ho, ho_!"

"Much better," Shelby confirmed. 

=/\=

As crew members stood in line for turkey with stuffing and gravy, mashed potatoes with the skins still on, carrots in a mint and dill sauce, cauliflower with a mild cheese sauce and salad, the men tried on the jacket. As expected, Brian was too short, as was Craig. It was too small for Tristan, and the sleeves were too short for Tripp.

The first man to fit into it at all well was Travis. "General!" Julie McKenzie said, saluting him and laughing. He handed the jacket back to Sekar, who was taking notes.

José also fit well, as did Gary, Ethan and Captain Archer. Once the fittings were done, Sekar tapped out a quick message, "_Come to my work station tomorrow and we'll try the pants_." He addressed it to the total of seventeen men who were at all believable in the jacket. He hit _send_ and brought the jacket to his work area so that it wouldn't be in any danger of being damaged. Rejoining the party, he approached Hoshi, "I'm a jealous man," he told her, without preamble.

"Oh?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, "I am jealous of the fact that you are going to Earth, for I know I am not. I will miss you."

"You'll miss me?"

"Yes," he said, "I know you are still unsure. But I am not. At least, not when it comes to you."

Chip started up music, The Sweet Cupcakes singing _Santa Clause is coming to Town_. "C'mon," he exhorted over the intercom, "it's party time!"

Amanda Cole got in line first and sat down on Santa Phlox's lap. "I'll tell you what I want for Christmas," she purred, "but only if you'll deliver it personally."

"I, uh," he said, "As I recall," he said quietly, "this is how you and I began our relationship last time."

"That's right," she whispered back, "and that's what I want for Christmas."

"I believe I can supply that." 

=/\=

The Ikaaran women mainly stood around, unsure of what to do with themselves. Timinka asked, "So is this the greatest holiday in the human year?"

"Not necessarily," Ethan Shapiro said, "it's got a religious basis and it's not even my own faith. But I don't mind the celebration. Over there," he indicated an electric menorah that he, Karin, Josh and Andrew had lit earlier, "that's a symbol of my faith."

"Which is the majority faith?"

"It's close to a tie between Christianity – they're the people who celebrate Christmas – and Islam. Azar Hamidi, Maryam Haroun and Ramih Azar all practice that. Judaism – that's mine – we're a really small minority, and we always have been."

"There are many stories in our faith, of the small defeating the large, and the weak gaining the upper hand over the strong," Timinka said.

"Let me tell you the story of David and Goliath." 

=/\=

"I brought Christmas dinner to Verinold, and to his guards, Azar Hamidi and Gary Hodgkins," Craig said, "He asked me if he was gonna have a trial, Captain."

"Yeah," said Captain Archer, "I'm not so sure where to begin with that," he confessed. "We don't have anyone around this time who's ignorant of the circumstances of Chang's death, not like last time when there was a trial about the assault on Patti Socorro."

"Right," Craig said, "but I think maybe there should be _something_. We're all concerned about going to Earth, but shouldn't that be a priority, too?"

"You're right, Crewman," he allowed.

Esilia came over. "I overheard you speaking about Verinold. I apologize for eavesdropping."

"It's all right," stated the captain, "Crewman Willets here has reminded me that we need to get that resolved. He's right, of course."

"If I, or any of my fellow Ikaarans, can help you in any way," she said, "just ask."

The music had shifted down tempo, to an instrumental version of _Silent Night_. "You can help by, by dancing with me."

She looked at him a little shyly. "We did not set out to be brides. Know that I left Ikaaria with every intention of spending four years farming, and then returning, and marrying there, and selecting a mate from among my own people. I know my shipmates had similar intentions."

He held her as they danced. "I started out in 2151. And I had every intention of going on my mission of, ha, exploration, and meeting new species and all of that. I wanted to see the stars, and I wanted to make friends. I never dreamed I'd make a, a really _good_ friend."

"Just a friend?"

"To start, yes," Jonathan smiled, "but more now." 

=/\=

Lili refilled snack bowls as Brian and Craig hovered. "Go and have fun," she finally told them.

Craig approached Dakiza as Brian went after Izquilla. Lili smiled, watching the magic of the night taking over.

"It's great to see so many people happy again," was a voice behind her. Lili jumped a little. It was Diana.

"Yeah, it is. Looks like a lot of our Ikaaran friends are finding partners."

"Now, me," Diana sighed, "I know I'm the odd woman out. I got my doubts that any of them are lesbians. Unless you've heard otherwise; er, have you?"

"Sorry, but I haven't heard, one way or the other," Lili reported.

"It's okay," Diana replied, "I mean, it most decidedly is _not_ okay, but there isn't a damned thing I can do about it, eh? But what about you?"

"_Me_?"

"Yeah, you," Diana said, "There's gotta be someone."

"They're both gone," Lili turned away, and Diana cursed herself for being so insensitive. 

=/\=

_As before, Lili's dream was ebony black. But this time, she heard more than one set of footsteps. "Ian?" she called out, a tiny bit alarmed._

"_It is I," he said, "and I have brought you your Christmas gift."_

"_Oh! I'm afraid I didn't get you anything. I'm sorry."  
><em>

"_It's all right," he said, "You don't really remember me from dream to dream anyway."_

"_Thank you for understanding, Ian."_

"_And now for your gift."_

_Four separate pairs of hands touched her shoulders. One pair seemed to take control, and that belonged to whoever hugged her first. She put a hand up to the lower part of that man's jaw. He was taller than Ian. "Jay?" she asked. There was a nod. "I've missed you," she admitted. There was another nod. "Can you speak to me?" There was a shake of the head._

"_That is the condition," Ian declared, "only I can speak with you right now."_

"_I see," Lili whispered. Jay touched a finger to the palm of her hand and began to spell carefully. Lili understood immediately and followed along, out loud. "S, P, A, R, R, O, W. Sparrow. Oh, Jay."_

"_He called you that. It was out of great affection."_

_She hugged him again. "Thanks Jay or perhaps I should say blue Jay." He nodded again, and then broke away, conceding so that someone else could have a turn._

_The next one was shorter. She immediately knew who it was. "Malcolm!" He nodded in confirmation. "I remember you said it was right." Another nod. "I remember you said it was your way." More nodding. "I remember all of those things about you. I am going to start to reread Jane Eyre, just for you." She felt moisture by his jaw. "What is this?"_

"_It's what you think it is," Ian confirmed._

"_Oh, Malcolm, I don't mean to sadden you." He held her for a long time and then he, too, had to concede._

_The next one was tall again, like Jay. "Who is this?" Lili asked._

"_This is Jay's counterpart, Lili. His name is Douglas. In the primary timeline, when all of this has spooled out, you will meet him, in late October of 2157. And you will fall in love. And you will find a way to be together, and you will marry."_

"_Thank you for the look ahead," she stated, even though it was pitch black and she could not see anything, as always._

_Doug also pulled back. Lili groped around. "Ian?"_

"_I am right here."_

"_Come here. You should get a gift, too."_

"_I –"_

"_Don't be shy." He came close and she put her arms around him. "Thank you for everything. You have been wonderful to me. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise."_

"_Thank you," he whispered._

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037_

_I guess we're going to Earth. But there also needs to be a trial. Willets and the others are right. So, unless there is no one else to go and play at being a general, I will stay up here, and will conduct the trial._

_In other news, I let Esilia know that I like her. I am moving slowly, and being respectful. I am beginning to believe in lightning striking twice._

_And maybe it'll strike better this time, for I now have the nagging feeling that Ebrona and her people kept things from us. I died happy last time. Ignorant, yes. Perhaps that was for the best, then. But that was then, and this is now – the new now – and I don't know having been kept in the dark. Hence going slowly is in, I suspect, even more of my best interests, now that I know that._

=/\=

_Chandrasekar Khan's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037_

_I have the assignment for the Earth clothing. The general's uni is, actually, from earlier, perhaps 2020 or so. But no matter and that will actually be better. I will create a name tag for it. _

_I also spoke with Hoshi some more. I want that to work out, again._

=/\=

_Phlox's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037_

_I have begun a relationship with Amanda Cole._

=/\=

_Jennifer Crossman MacKenzie's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037_

_I haven't told Aidan yet, but I think I may be pregnant. I'll go see Phlox in the morning, to be sure. Don't wanna give Aidan a heart attack if I don't have to!_

=/\=

_Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037_

_So I'm on the short list to go to Earth. Wacky. I never even got there until I was sixteen._

_Diana Jones asked me, today, about whether I'd found someone else. I can't see it. I just can't see it, and I don't know if I ever will. I feel so alone sometimes, but then I think of Jay and Malcolm and no one else feels right._


	17. Trials and Christenings

Chapter 17 - Trials and Christenings

"Deploying the Ikaaran shuttle now, sir," Travis reported as he sat at his station on the Bridge. Most of the regular Bridge crew was with him, with a few notable exceptions.

"Open a channel, please," said Captain Archer.

"Right away," said Chip Masterson.

"We see you," said the captain.

"Not for long," replied Frank Todd from inside the Ikaaran shuttle.

"Ready to cloak, on my mark," Hoshi reported from the Ikaaran shuttle, "three, two, one!"

Kerna flipped a switch and the cloak was successfully deployed. "We have a good cloak," she stated.

"No trace of the Ikaaran shuttle on scanners," Aidan reported.

"Nothing on sensors," T'Pol reported.

"You still there?" the captain inquired.

"Still here," Lili reported from the Ikaaran shuttle. "Requesting permission to head to Earth."

"Permission granted," said the captain.

"See you in a few days," Hoshi said, "Sato out."

On the _NX-01_, Jonathan turned to the others on the Bridge, "Let's keep chatter with them to a minimum. Good work, everyone. T'Pol, you have the Bridge. I'll be in the Observation Lounge, as you know, conducting the trial."

"Yes, Captain," replied the Vulcan.

=/\=

On the Ikaaran shuttle, Hoshi looked at her fellow passengers. "One thing I'd like to do is get a bottle of Champagne, if we could."

"We'd have to head to France for the real thing," Lili stated, "Otherwise it's just sparkling wine. It's not a bad thing, but it's not authentic."

"Why do you want Champagne?" asked Gary Hodgkins.

"Two reasons," Hoshi explained, "for one, I want to toast our mission. I've never been an Acting Captain of any sized vessel before. And, two, I want to christen this ship."

"What does _christen_ mean?" Kerna asked as she piloted.

"It's an official naming ceremony," explained José Torres, "so, uh, what do you wanna name the shuttle?"

"I think we should honor his memory," Hoshi replied, "he may have been a pain, but he was an animal lover. Nobody knew that until the end, so let's call it the _Daniel Chang_."

"Then we're gonna need two bottles, eh?" said Gary.

=/\=

Jonathan sat at a table in the Observation Lounge. All of the Ikaaran women – save Kerna, of course – sat nearby. Representatives from each of the departments – even Sekar and Shelby, who were departments unto themselves – were also present.

Mario Lattimer and Susie Money brought in the prisoner. Verinold looked around at all of them and anxiously asked, "Is my fate already decided?"

"No," answered Captain Archer, "that's why we're conducting a trial in the first place. We first call Julie McKenzie."

Julie stepped forward. "On the date of Daniel Chang's death, December first of 2037, the Ikaaran shuttle was launched. When that ship was returned to the bay, and the hatch was opened, the only person we found inside was Verinold."

Jonathan thanked her and she sat down. "We call Andrew Miller."

Andy stood up. "On the day of his death, Chang was in Sick Bay because of a complaint of a headache. When the call came in that the shuttle had been grabbed, he said he was going there. That was the last time I ever saw him alive."

"And afterwards?" prompted the captain.

"When his corpse was brought to Sick Bay, Doctor Phlox and I performed an autopsy. We determined that the cause of death was oxygen deprivation, due to exposure to the vacuum of deep space. Our considered scientific opinion – which we both share – is that there is no other way for Chang to have died. He most definitely died outside the ship." 

Ethan Shapiro was then called. He said, "I was monitoring all of the airlocks. None of them were tampered with. The only way that Chang could have gotten out of the ship was through the shuttle launch bay."

Colleen Romanov then spoke. "The shuttle launch bay was only open for a minute on December first of 2037, and at no other time on that day."

"And what time was that?" asked the captain.

"Oh seven hundred thirty-one hours, sir."

"And Crewman Miller," asked the captain, "when was the estimated time of Chang's death?"

"Between oh seven hundred twenty-five and oh seven hundred forty, sir. The imprecision is due to the fact that sometimes there can be a small amount of residual oxygen in the lungs, and the body can technically be alive albeit brain dead."

"Thank you," said the captain. Turning to Verinold, he said, "What do you have to say to that? Do you have witnesses or any other contradictory evidence?"

Verinold thought for a moment. "I do not," he finally admitted, "The question is less one of culpability than it is one of the degree of punishment. Will you put me to death, Captain Archer?"

=/\=

On the Ikaaran shuttle, they made good time. "Wow," José looked out the window. "I, I had forgotten how much I miss the Earth." They were still several hours away, and had yet to get to Mars, but the Earth could still be seen plainly, with magnification.

"Me, too," Frank agreed, "but we gotta all keep it together and not get too sentimental. We got a job to do."

"Right," Lili added, "cute puppies or no, we can't just take them all home with us, although I certainly wish we could."

"We've got several kilos of tin," Gary said, "let's spend it wisely."

"Onward to Phnom Penh," Hoshi commanded. 

=/\=

"I would rather not," Captain Archer replied, "but I don't honestly know what the best way to proceed is. What would _you_ do, if you were in my position?"

"I don't suppose you have a lot of choices for banishment," Verinold stated, "and I imagine you would find it difficult to trust me again. Could I work on that little planet, live out my days there, sowing, weeding and harvesting, under the direction and supervision of your people? Will you permit that?"

"I'll consider it," said the captain, "and we're adjourned."

=/\=

While Kerna piloted, José mused, "I gotta wonder why the other version of the _NX-01_ didn't know about the fuel from the thermobaric clouds."

"Perhaps the other Ikaaran engineer was not as skilled as our Dakiza," Kerna opined.

"The captain, when he told us all about it, he said he hoped it wasn't due to a lack of trust," Gary said, "I mean, I can see how it could be really upsetting. He married an Ikaaran woman the last time out. To know that she kept something that big from him, I mean, that's gotta be hard."

"What did you do, last time?" Kerna asked.

Gary swallowed. "I was, uh, I was one of the guys who attacked Socorro. Lieutenant Commander O'Day here was captured by Imvari, as was Major Hayes." At the sound of his name, Lili swallowed a small lump in her throat. Gary continued, "On a mission to rescue them, my other version, well, I lost my life. But not before confessing to the deed – to Todd here, actually. It looks like it broke the case wide open. At least I did that. I don't, um, I don't recognize that guy, know what I mean?"

"You have a chance to rectify it all," Kerna reported, "Passing your Mars now."

They all looked out the window at the red planet. "It's so weird to not see it terraformed," Hoshi said.

"When we passed by Titan, it was harder than I had thought it would be," Lili added, "New France is how far from being founded? It really brings it all home, just how far back we really swung." 

=/\=

Captain Archer sat in his Ready Room. There was a door chime. "Yes?"

It was T'Pol. "Am I disturbing you?"

"No, I'm deliberating and also thinking about the events of the past year or so. I'm trying to separate my feelings for Porthos, and my irritations with Daniel Chang, from the decision I have to make about Verinold."

"And then there is also what you are thinking and feeling about being so close to the Earth," the Vulcan observed.

"Of course. A part of me is very excited. It's like a little jaunt, a lark. But I'm also mindful of the timeline. And I want to temper my enthusiasm. This has to be our one and only visit. We can't just be dropping everything and returning every year, despite how attractive a prospect that might be. There are just too many chances to manhandle the timeline."

"What is the purpose behind punishment?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject. "When it comes to justice, that is."

"Huh. There are a lot of theories, I've been discovering through my reading. It can be just to, well, be punitive. Another reason is to deter others. Yet another reason is revenge on a perpetrator. It can also be to elicit essentially a penitence for the convict."

"What would your purpose be with regards to Verinold?"

"Well, I do want there to be some punishment. He caused a man's death. It may not have been intentional, but that was the collateral damage from him taking the shuttle. But I also want to deter the other Ikaarans from trying something like that."

"So you do not trust them."

"I don't know if I can," he admitted, "after all, their fellow Ikaarans kept this major technological breakthrough from our earlier versions."

"But they have shared it now," she pointed out.

"True. But T'Pol, I _loved_ her. I _loved_ Ebrona. And it looks an awful lot like she betrayed me." He sighed.

"Perhaps there is an alternate explanation. After all, she was brought onto the _Enterprise_ with no technology whatsoever – she and her fellows were beamed in or brought over via our own shuttlepod. And she had not been the captain of her vessel. That had been someone else. It is entirely possible that her engineer was not the original engineer on her ship. The knowledge could have been lost."

"Maybe. I still have these vague, nagging doubts."

"Be that as it may," T'Pol opined, "I believe that you should not permit your own vague feelings of betrayal cloud your judgment, when it comes to Verinold's fate."

"Yanno," the captain said after a while, "you're absolutely right."

=/\=

And on the Ikaaran shuttle, they slipped into an orbit on the far side of the moon and turned off the cloak in order to conserve fuel, and waited for the Cambodian morning. 

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, February seventeenth, 2038_

_The trial is finished, and I will announce my decision tomorrow. I do not wish to execute Verinold. I think his proposal is a sound one._

=/\=

_José Torres's Personal Log, February seventeenth, 2038_

_We're off to Earth. I see it and try not to cry._

=/\=

_T'Pol's Personal Log, February seventeenth, 2038_

_The captain is, I believe, making a reasoned decision about Verinold. _

_My own decisions are more unsettling. As Tripp speaks to me about marriage, I have my own doubts, given how the earlier iteration unfolded._

=/\=

_Edmund Hamboyan's Personal Log, February seventeenth, 2038_

_I miss Kerna._


	18. Cages

Chapter 18 – Cages

"_You're going on a marvelous adventure," said Ian._

"_I guess so. But you're supposed to be here for my darkest hours. Is something going to go wrong?"_

"_No, but the sights you shall see, they will be upsetting ones, Lili. I am here."_

"_I'm glad. I can't do this without you."_

And on the shuttle, because they were all sleeping cheek by jowl, José heard Lili say in her sleep,_ "I can't do this without you." _He smiled and covered her feet with his blanket, as her own blanket had slipped a little.

=/\=

"Phnom Penh, dead ahead," José reported a few hours later, "I guess I should put on that uni, eh?"

"Yep," Lili agreed, "It's almost show time, General Torres."

One of the blankets was pressed into service as an impromptu dividing wall, with men on the right, and women on the left. There was otherwise no privacy on the Ikaaran shuttle.

José put on the unfamiliar uni as Hoshi and Lili also changed. Frank and Gary put on jackets that Sekar had made to match the time period, but otherwise they just wore what they had.

Hoshi and Lili took turns holding a little hand mirror for each other as they fixed their hair. Then Lili turned and ran a comb through José's remaining hair. "Thanks," he said.

"Well, I'm your wife, I guess. So I'd better start acting the part, and pretending to take care of you."

"You look good," he told her.

"Eh, I look like a rich, spoiled hausfrau," she complained. But it was true. Her clothing appeared more finely tailored but it was a little faded, as if it had been elegant once, but was out of style and could not be readily replaced. It was a little sky blue suit. She also had white flats and a matching frame purse. "Give me gloves and a pillbox hat and I could be Jackie Kennedy's long-lost descendant, I suppose."

"It's fine," José assured her.

She adjusted his nametag. "General Slocum, eh? Wasn't that a ship, or something?"

"I dunno," he mumbled, a little nervous, and then added, "uh, Mrs. Slocum."

"Egad, I rejected Chef the last time around, and I woulda rejected him again if he'd asked me out," Lili confided, "It just felt weird to be even thinking about going out with my boss."

"Does, um, does anyone feel, er, not so weird to you, Lili?"

She shook her head. "Not right now, no."

=/\=

The Ikaaran shuttle touched down on a small rice paddy outside Phnom Penh. The ground was spongy, but it held. They opened the hatch and got out. Kerna said, "If I see anyone coming, I will take off, and will return to the other side of your moon. Contact me if you do not see me."

"Right," Hoshi told her, "and thanks for doing this."

"It is a fascinating challenge. And while it is ill-advised for me to step outside, I am still the first of my species to see your planet so close. It is a great honor." She closed the hatch and the shuttle was completely invisible to the outside world.

"The city is over there," Frank pointed, after checking his PADD, "It's less than half a kilometer away."

"Let's go," Hoshi commanded. 

=/\=

Phnom Penh in 2038 was bustling with activity. Unlike other Asian cities, it had not been bombed too extensively, although there were some ruined spots. The radiation levels were also fairly low. Compared to Lagos, Nigeria – which had been the first casualty of the Third World War, in 2026, when Colonel Green and his forces had dropped a stolen nuclear warhead on it – Phnom Penh was a virtual Garden of Eden.

"The info I checked said the live market was in the older part of the city," Gary informed them as they walked. He and Frank were carrying phase rifles, but Sekar had created covers for them that made them look like firearms of the time period. They could still be used.

Hoshi stopped the next person she saw, and asked him, an old man, for the directions in Khmer. The old man eyed the other four of them, pointing and gesticulating as he spoke to her in an animated fashion. He left, shaking his head.

"What the hell was that all about?" asked Frank.

"He said I shouldn't be working so closely with you Yankee Imperialist dogs, and that you'd all rape me in my sleep. I pointed out the general's wife, and he said she probably liked to watch."

"Egad," Lili made a face, "did you at least get some useful information out of him?"

"I did, despite all of that," Hoshi reported, "he probably just wanted to vent. Down this way."

They walked, and people stared, but they were at least left alone. Eventually, the homes began to appear more worn-down, and the street signs were bent or made of wood rather than metal, and then they were nonexistent. Children stepped by in dirty rags and stared at them, their faces covered by filthy surgical masks.

"What are the masks for?" José asked.

"Well, the live market'll probably reek," Lili explained, "but this looks like more than all that."

"It is. Public health systems are breaking down," Gary explained, "and people can't get their kids vaccinated any more. So they do this, to try and stem the tide of infectious diseases. It's got mixed effectiveness."

A man passed by, pulling a cart laden with dead chickens. "Let's follow him," José suggested.

The live market was, as Lili had predicted, a smelly place, and extremely loud. Vendors shouted in Khmer, telling of their wares, much as they probably had two or three hundred years or perhaps even a thousand years before. "I'm picking up, well, it's not just Khmer that's being spoken," Hoshi explained, "It's also Lao, Cantonese and Korean."

"Anybody selling dog?" Frank asked.

Hoshi listened to the cacophony for a moment. "Over there."

The stall was large. The dogs were mainly silent, scared, although there was a lot of whining at times, as one would start and the others would join in, perhaps in solidarity or sympathy.

They were crammed into cages, five or six or seven to a far too small wooden or bamboo cage. Lili bent down to a cage on the ground. A tan muzzle poked through and its owner licked her finger. She straightened up. "Tell the vendor I want to inspect the contents of this cage."

Hoshi translated the request to the vendor, who was a middle-aged woman. "She's asking me," Hoshi said after the woman had replied, "What you're thinking of cooking."

"Stew," Lili replied, "so they can be more muscular and," she swallowed at the thought, "chewy."

Hoshi translated again, words like _Preap_ and _ch'kae_ were said a few times. "Mrs. Preap here," she reported, gesturing to the vendor, "says she wants to see our payment first."

Frank and Gary were holding two containers of tin. José motioned to Gary to open his. Mrs. Preap peeked inside and nodded vigorously. She spoke to Hoshi again. "She says it's okay to look," Hoshi reported.

Gary put down a container and then put his foot on it so that it wouldn't be taken. He helped Lili open the cage a little. The dogs rushed at the opening a bit, but she put her hand up, palm facing them and they seemed to understand not to make a break for it.

The dogs were weak and thin, with their ribs sticking out. Except for one, which Lili realized was the owner of the tan muzzle who had licked her before. That one had a little bit of a belly. Lili touched the dog's belly – it was a female – and was a little surprised to feel movement. For a second, she cringed, wondering if the dog had some sort of awful parasite. But then she put two and two together, and understood that no, it wasn't that. The dog was pregnant, and there was at least one living puppy.

"These will be good," Lili decided. She and Gary got them back into the tiny cage. The dogs were so weak they did not object, and made nearly no noise. "But they aren't worth one of these containers of tin," Lili affected a haughty air, "Tell Mrs. Preap that we will take two cages full for each container of tin," Lili decided on the spot. Conditions were just so deplorable.

Hoshi started translating. José grabbed Lili's sleeve. "Are you outta your mind? We are very nearly done here. We're memorable enough as it is. Don't make this any worse."

"Trust me, _husband_," she emphasized the last word, "this woman is desperate."

"So we don't need to cheat her," José cautioned.

"It's not cheating. Everything will be fine," Lili assured. She felt a tug on the hem of her skirt this time. There was a small boy with no shoes, no more than maybe four years old. Like all of the other children they had seen, he was wearing a filthy surgical mask. He looked up at her with big pleading eyes and stuck his hand out, begging. "Do you have maybe a small piece of that tin?" Lili asked Frank.

"I got something better." He produced a small pen knife. "Whaddaya think?"

"Maybe," Lili allowed, "let's see what the vendor says."

"She says," Hoshi reported, "that two cages per container of tin is acceptable to her, but you can't inspect any of the other cages quite so closely, although you can select them."

Gary lifted the cage they had already decided on. The pregnant female let out a bark when the cage passed close to another cage, and her bark was met by a bark emanating from in there. "Hey, I think they know each other," he speculated.

"Let's make that the second cage of the four," José decided. He looked around until he saw one with fairly large dogs in it. They were just as emaciated as the others, but their paws stuck out on all sides, as they just didn't fit. "This one."

"Agreed," Frank nodded. He and Hoshi glanced around. She gasped when she saw one of the cages. "What is it?" he asked.

"That one looks like Porthos."

It was true; the dog was some sort of little tricolored breed, with floppy ears. It, too, was crammed in with others and it was just as pitifully thin as they were. "Let's make this our fourth," José stated.

Hoshi communicated to Mrs. Preap, and the tin was exchanged for the four cramped cages. The little boy was still there. Frank knelt down to the kid's level and gave him the little pen knife and tousled his dirty hair a bit. "I hope you can sell this." He hoisted the cage with the bigger dogs in it onto one shoulder. José took the last cage as Gary took the two where the dogs seemed to know one another.

Whining and barking followed them as they left. "Don't look, oh God, don't look," Lili told Hoshi, "You don't wanna see what's hanging on hooks, freshly slaughtered."

"No," Hoshi whispered, averting her eyes and moving quickly.

Once they were a bit down the road, Hoshi clicked open her communicator. "Kerna?"

"A moment," Kerna replied, "I take it you were successful. I will open the hatch in five minutes, and then you'll be able to see me."

"Got it. Sato out." Hoshi looked down, as the little boy was back. He had followed them and, perhaps, had seen her communicator. He was now tugging on the hem of her skirt. Hoshi and he exchanged several words of Khmer, and he finally left.

"What did he want?" asked José.

"He said the general can come back to his mother's stall if you ever get hungry for dog again."

"Let's get out of here," Gary requested, "This place makes me shiver."

"Yeah," Lili agreed, "I can't wait to leave."

=/\=

José stripped off the general's uni as fast as possible and stuffed it into a bag which he then sealed. Left in just his own shirt and boxers, he quickly donned a pair of non-Starfleet regulation sweatpants, with the logo of William and Mary emblazoned on the side. "I hope I didn't get the uni dirty at all."

"Oh, thanks," replied Lili as they took off, "I'd rather not launder it. It still smells a little bit like Jay."

"I'm sorry," he told her, "but it might smell like me a bit, too, now."

"That's okay."

They had ten doses of a combination sedative and antibiotic. "Let's get two from each cage, the two worst-looking ones," Hoshi commanded, "and they'll get the doses, then two others. They'll sleep, so they can be out of their cages."

Gary spread a blanket down. They injected a huge white dog with black spots, far bigger than a Dalmatian, who seemed to be young – all paws and ears. There were two horribly thin retrievers, and others with what appeared to be mange. They also selected the pregnant tan female for an injection, and the dog who appeared to be her mate, a brindle male with a wide face. Those dogs were all out cold, sleeping on the spread-out blanket. The others were quiet. They all seemed to be infested with fleas.

"Next stop, France," Kerna announced, "Where to, specifically?"

"Paris," Hoshi commanded.

"No, if I may suggest something else," Lili interjected, "because Paris is too large. I fear we'd be spotted somehow. Let's go to Pérouges instead; it's near Lyon. It's an old walled city. We could set down near the wall and I think that would provide some cover."

"All right," agreed Hoshi, "You'll go with just one other person. You speak French, right?"

"_Oui_," Lili confirmed, "we spoke French and English when I was growing up. Gary, wanna get married for five minutes?"

"Uh, sure." José looked over but only for a second. 

=/\=

The stop in Pérouges was a short one. They got in, went into a wine merchant and Lili grabbed two bottles of _Grand Siècle_ Champagne. Gary showed the clerk a real silk scarf that Hoshi had given them for the payment. "_Non, non, madame et monsieur_!" enthused the clerk, "_C'est pour trois bouteilles_!"

"_Pourquoi_?" asked Lili.

"_L'armée; c'est ma reconnaissance. Un cadeau_."

"Ah, _merci beaucoup, monsieur_," she replied. They left with three bottles instead of two.

"What kind of a negotiator are you?" Gary asked in some admiration.

"The clerk offered the third bottle to me. He said it was a gift, in gratitude to the army."

"I see. How did you know about this town?"

"My mother's family is from here." They had arrived at the shuttle, and got inside.

=/\=

Once they were back on the _Enterprise_, an enormous amount of time was spent in decon. The dogs had multiple issues, and Phlox wanted to be absolutely sure before letting any of them out. Plus there was the matter of some exposure to radiation, and the fleas. Lili had Phlox get Brian to bring over the metal mixing bowls from the galley and they were filled with water or kibble for the new crew members, who ate heartily, tails wagging.

Lili found herself napping a bit as they waited for decon to finish, her head resting on Frank's shoulder. 

=/\=

"_I see you've got your new friends," Ian remarked._

"_You were right about it being troubling. I hadn't been to a place like that for years, but you never forget it. It's brutal."_

"_Those people are also starving," he commented, "but you did well. That Preap family will be all right. They'll survive the war."_

"_Oh gosh, did we change that?"_

"_No," he assured her, "hist'ry is considerably more durable than all that. T'Pol worries far too much. It's bendable and breakable, to be sure, but not as readily as she fears. This little jaunt hasn't changed anything in the grand scheme of things."_

"_Oh, good."_

"_That little tan dog – she'll be yours, you know. She won't ever want to leave your side."_

"_I'm glad someone will love me," Lili sighed._

"_Someone else will, too," he assured her, "and not just the four of us here, but someone alive and on the NX-01 right now."_

"_Oh?"_

"_I can say no more. But you will be loved again, in life."_

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, February eighteenth, 2038_

_I'm a little anxious to meet our new friends close up, but Phlox tells me it'll be a bit longer. Twenty-six dogs! We had thought we'd be lucky to get ten. This is fantastic! We'll have herders for the planet – and the procul. And children can have pets._

_I'm happiest about Kerna. She did as expected, and did not betray us. I think the thing with Verinold was a fluke, and I have told him as much. We will do as he suggested, and he will live out his days on that planet, working the fields._

=/\=

_Franklin Thomas Todd's Personal Log, February eighteenth, 2038_

_For me, this day was mixed and upsetting, for the most part. Sure, we saved a bunch of dogs, and we probably helped out that Preap family, big time. But there were so many others who we couldn't help._

=/\=

_Gary Hodgkins's Personal Log, February eighteenth, 2038_

_I never went to France before. Who knew it would be in 2038? Nobody knows what we'll do with that extra bottle of Champagne._

=/\=

_Hoshi Sato's Personal Log, February eighteenth, 2038_

_I missed Sekar. I never thought I'd say that. I guess I do care, and it wasn't just settling when we got together last time. I don't think it's settling now, either._

=/\=

_Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, February eighteenth, 2038_

_We have our dogs. And our Champagne. What an odd few days this has been. The general's uni still, for the most part, smells like Jay. And when I put it back today, it was a little like a stabbing in my heart. But I know I'm also tired and emotionally overloaded. _

_We have seen the Third World War, and what it did to people, and it was not even the half of it, but it was more than enough. If the Xindi had bisected Florida and South America in 2038 instead of 2153, I swear I would almost be all right with letting them have us. We've grown since then. We've gotten better._


	19. A Living Gift

Chapter 19 – A Living Gift

The dogs settled into life on the _NX-01_. There were too many of them, and they were often underfoot, so most of them were quickly shipped off to the still-unnamed planet. Karin Bernstein-Rosen – for she had married Josh – and Jonathan found a great deal of satisfaction in training a lot of the new canines. They could get them all to sit and stay, and come when they were called. They had simple names, like _Champ_. The two retrievers were black – _Midnight_ and _Shadow_. The ship joined in the namings and it seemed that everyone got a chance, even the Ikaarans, who were amused by the special bond between humans and canids.

Time off the ship had been good for the captain, and for Esilia, who had joined them. It had been a few months, and the air was decent and not recycled. But the lighting was somewhat dim there without artificial light, which was a power drain. Their efficiency was as good as they could possibly make it, but it was still difficult to grow crops there, despite their best efforts.

Back on the ship, they sat together for lunch. The captain had adopted the little tricolored dog and had named her Daisy. She sat, hoping for a morsel or two to drop. Brian served. "Another BLT, sir?"

"No, no, that's all right," he said, "You?"

"Oh, no, it is already too much. After so much want, to be around so much plenty, it is easy to overindulge," Esilia explained.

"Can I come back later for the dishes, sir? I, uh, I want to see my girl, if that's okay."

"Of course," allowed Captain Archer. Brian practically ran out of there. "He _really_ likes Izquilla."

"I am certain that she appreciates him. Do you think he will give her a living gift soon?"

"A what?"

"You must have known this from the last time, Jonathan," Esilia explained, "When you give someone a living thing as a gift, it is to propose marriage. It is a very intimate act."

"I see. Here, Daisy," he beckoned the dog over with a small morsel of bacon and got on one knee. Lifting up the little dog, he stated, "Daisy, Esilia is your new mistress. I am giving you to her because; well, because I love her."

"I accept your living gift, and all that it entails," Esilia answered, "I will love you until _the decline_ takes me."

"Let's hope that's a long time from now."

=/\=

Lili was in the galley, chopping vegetables. Despite her higher ranking, she still did that; Will almost never had, but her management style was far more relaxed and she didn't mind preparing or cleaning up.

As Ian had predicted – although she didn't remember – the little tan dog was hers. The mongrel dog had been named Cocoa, but Lili often called her Cokie. Cokie had had three puppies in Sick Bay but, to keep them from getting in the way, they had been transferred to a little boxed-off area in the galley. There had been a contest to name the three female puppies and Meredith Porter had won, with _Windy_, _Breezy_ and _Stormy_.

Cokie's mate was evidently a pit bull, and had been named Sparky. He was technically Craig's, but he spent his time mostly with his little family and that meant the galley. He and Cokie were intently watching the vegetables, probably wishing they were meat.

"MACOs are down on Amity's surface, looking to catch procul. That's why you guys were brought on board in the first place. But I don't think any of you, personally, will be herding procul. I think the five of you will just be pets, like Daisy. Probably Shep and Champ and Duke will do the herding, eh?"

There were a few head tilts but no comments from Lili's canine audience. "I'm so glad you're here. I'm glad somebody loves me."

The door slid open. It was Brian and Izquilla. "Oh! We are so sorry!" Izquilla blurted out.

"That's okay," Lili replied, "me and my entourage were just getting an early jump on dinner."

"It's Movie Night tonight," Brian explained, "Chip is showing _The Godfather_. I think he's trying to get the more adult films played now, before Jenny has her baby and we start just watching kiddie stuff. You coming, Lili?"

Lili shook her head. "Violent films give me nightmares. Plus, who would I go with?"

"Well, Brian is taken," Izquilla giggled, "But there is Derek Kelby. Or maybe Gary or Eddie would like to sit with you."

"I dunno," Lili sighed, "Derek's so serious all the time."

"Then Eddie. He can be funny," Izquilla suggested, "We do not wish for you to be lonely and sad."

"I've got my little loves," Lili gestured at her entourage.

The door opened again. This time, it was Craig. "You lost?" Lili asked.

"Very funny," he replied, "just wanted to grab a few stalks of celery. Maybe the procul will be attracted to 'em. I dunno what we'll do, as stun kills 'em. I dunno about you, but I don't wanna share a shuttle with a procul moving around in the back."

"Maybe they can be beamed, or boxed up, or something," Brian suggested.

"I'm sure I dunno," Craig replied, "You coming to Movie Night, Lili?" Izquilla arched an eyebrow but put it down when Craig added, "You think Dakiza would go with me?"

"I think she would like that," replied the Ikaaran.

"Ah! Look at the time! Gotta go!" Craig exclaimed.

"Be careful, Craig!" Lili called out as he left, "Don't forget what happened last time on Amity!"

"Don't worry!" he replied.

After the door had shut, Lili turned to Brian and Izquilla and sighed, "Of course I worry." She thought for a moment. "Brian, where are the dishes from the Captain's Mess?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, we'll get them," he said. They left.

Lili looked down at the dogs after the door had shut again. "I guess he's in love and he's a little oblivious to that right now. But still! The dishes need to be cleaned, whether he's in love or not."

The door opened. It was José Torres.

"Something I can do for you?" Lili asked.

"I, um, I was wondering, uh, are you going to Movie Night tonight?"

She looked at him, and he was hopping from one foot to the other, as if he were either nervous or really needed to visit the head. "I don't really like those kinds of movies."

"Oh," he was disappointed. He turned to leave.

"I, uh," Lili volunteered, "I usually just read in my quarters or something. But I could, uh; I guess I'll hang out in the Observation Lounge later. You know, look at that half-built sphere and stuff."

"Oh. Uh, yeah." He departed.

"Huh," Lili murmured, "I can't tell if I have a date or not, or what any of that was about." Sparky barked once. "Really? You think so?" she joked. "Actually, I need to do something. I need to talk to someone who actually speaks English. Er, sorry." She put the chopped vegetables into a bowl in the refrigeration unit and walked out.

=/\=

Amity was much like they had left it. "It's weird to know," Eddie stated, "that our counterparts were here recently. The Major was even here a few months before." He sighed. "God, how can Lili stand it, and Sandra and the others, knowing there's another version out there that loved them?" He was a touch overcome as he could include himself in that number.

"Can't say as I know," Craig shook his head, "here; let's try the celery as bait, okay?"

They were able to get very close to the procul, who were as tame as lambs. "Which part does the eating?" asked Eddie.

"I read about this," Susie explained, "it's the undercarriage. _Everything_ goes on under there. That's where their eyespots are, too."

"Huh. Why would they keep their eyes underneath like that?" Eddie asked. "They've got fourteen legs in the way. I mean, what good are their eyes if they got all this stuff in the way all the time?"

"I didn't design 'em," Susie joked.

"Let's try just leaving the celery out," Craig suggested, "and see what happens."

They watched for a while as the procul mainly just milled around, seemingly without purpose. "This feels pointless," Eddie called, "Here, procul, procul!"

"I dunno as that'll work," Craig laughed.

They waited some more, and then noticed the malostrea coming out of their dens, shells clattering and clapping and chattering. "Now, we know the procul will head back to the ocean, once a few of 'em are killed by the malostrea," Susie clarified.

"So let's head 'em off at the pass," Eddie suggested.

They took places on the shoreline. The largest procul changed from rust to celadon color and then reared up and rubbed two of its forward legs together, thereby making a high-pitched whistling sound.

The malostrea, still clapping and chattering, attacked it, and the big beast soon fell. The herd scattered. Many of them headed straight for Eddie, Susie and Craig. Craig opened a plastic cargo container. With Eddie pushing the beast, they managed to get a procul into the box. Susie sealed up the box as the men worked on capturing the next oblivious procul.

They managed to get eighteen in all. The others ambled back into the water and swam away, and they could see why the eyespots were on the underside of the animals – they swam in a way that seemed backwards, so the eyespots ended up being right in front. They were unexpectedly graceful swimmers.

After the eighteen cargo boxes – each containing one procul – were loaded up, Susie, Craig and Eddie began to gather plants that they had seen the procul feeding on. They filled two more cargo boxes and headed back to the Ikaaran shuttle, which had been recently christened the _Daniel Chang_.

Kerna, the pilot, reported, "They have been quiet. Perhaps they accept their relocation."

"I dunno," Eddie added, "they're pretty dumb. I'm not so sure they'll even notice they're somewhere else."

"Shh," she cautioned as they took off, "they'll hear you."

He laughed at that. "Silly gal." He tentatively touched her shoulder and looked at her when he said that, and smiled. She smiled back.

Susie explained, "The other _NX-01_ studied two of the malostrea. They named them Thing One and Thing Two, and painted those numbers on their shells."

"So?" Craig asked.

"So I wonder why we didn't see them today," she speculated.

"I dunno," Craig replied, "maybe they weren't going on a procul hunt today. Or maybe they were still on the other ship?"

"I dunno," she shrugged.

Unbeknownst to them, Thing One and Thing Two _were_ there – two malostrea with chipped paint on their shells. But perhaps because they knew a little something of humans, they had not shown themselves. 

=/\=

Lili went to Sick Bay. "Something I can help you with?" Phlox asked. He and Andrew were tending to Meredith Porter and Karin Bernstein-Rosen.

"I can wait," Lili told him.

"We're finished up here. And congratulations to you both." The two women thanked him and left. Phlox added, "Two more pregnancies! I'm awfully glad you're here to assist, Andrew."

"It's why I'm here. You're not pregnant, are ya, Lili?" Her face fell and he quickly added, "Open mouth, insert foot. I'm so sorry. It was dumb and not very sensitive of me to say that." Embarrassed, he pretended to take an inordinate amount of interest in the Derellian bat.

"It's, it's all right," Lili stammered out. "Doc, can I talk to you? I mean like a counselor?"

"By all means. Would you prefer if Andrew were to depart?"

"No, uh, that's all right," she allowed. She thought for a moment as to how to begin. "I, uh, I think José Torres asked me out."

"You think?" inquired the Denobulan.

Lili smiled a little. "He mentioned Movie Night, and I said I didn't want to see the picture Chip was showing. Then I mentioned maybe going to the Observation Lounge. And then he, well, he didn't agree to it, but he didn't disagree, either."

"I can see where that would be a bit confusing. Why are you asking me about this, Lieutenant Commander?"

"It's just, I kinda don't know what to do. I mean, he's a nice guy and all, but he's not my first choice. Or my second. Those are, they are, they're, they're dead."

"Is he, perhaps, your third choice?" the doctor asked.

Lili shook her head. "I'm not so sure where he fits on the spectrum. Maybe there is no more spectrum any more. Maybe there is no one else. I dunno."

"Is it," Andrew asked, injecting himself into the conversation, "that he in particular is approaching you, or is it that _anyone_ – and it just so happened to be him – has approached you?"

"I dunno. And I know how unfair it all is. How can he possibly compete with two ghosts?"

"Perhaps you are idolizing the departed," Phlox opined.

Lili decided to change the subject as she was getting uncomfortable. "Doc, is there maybe something you could give me?"

"Give you?"

"For the way I'm feeling. I suspect I've got depression. And I know you've got drugs for that."

"I do," the Denobulan admitted, "but there may be other avenues we could try first."

"But–"

"You are, to be sure, still affected by the Major's and the Lieutenant's deaths. You are probably also somewhat affected by Chef Slocum's as well. But there has been some time in between, and you have been able to function perfectly well. After all, the first of these events was last September; the most recent was last November. You even made it to Earth and back and now care for your own pets. You received a substantial promotion and have thrown yourself into your new duties with what is, to all observations, enthusiasm."

"Doctor, I feel terrible. Please!"

"Wouldn't you rather at least make an effort to talk out your problems?" he insisted.

"I–"

"Lili," it was Andrew, "why don't you and I go for a walk, okay? Maybe we can, I dunno, let's just chat a bit."

"Okay."

"Is this okay, Doc?" Andrew asked.

"By all means, Mister Miller."

Andrew and Lili departed.

=/\=

They stopped by the galley and she collected her little entourage. She and Andrew carried the puppies, which didn't really walk much yet. "Might as well get 'em all exercised," she decided. Sparky and Cokie trotted behind as they walked. "Well?"

"Actually, I was hoping that you could help me with something," Andrew explained.

"Oh?"

"See, I don't really know how to approach Shelby. I know we work out, but God only knows exactly _how_. Every time I see her, I think about what's supposed to happen and I just end up getting all tongue-tied."

"Well, I guess it's just that initial hump that you've gotta get over."

"I guess so, but it feels like a mountain. What do I say? What's the key that unlocks that door?"

"I guess only you and Shelby could ever really know that," Lili mused, "But in the meantime, just keep on doing what you're doing. Interact even if it's just regular old normal talking. It can be about work or whatever. And whenever it's going to come, it'll come."

"Yanno, I look at my old logs from that earlier kick back and I have no idea who that guy is." He put down Windy and Breezy, who sniffed the corridor.

"I saw something in Jay's logs that was like that. He said he was; let me see if I can get this right, _not the only one who's unacquainted with the self_."

"It's a second chance, kinda," Andrew stated as Lili put Stormy down and the little dog joined everyone else as they sniffed some unseen yet fascinating thing on the floor. "But I just don't know. Just talk to her? About _anything?_"

"Yeah, uh, Andy?"

"Hmm?" 

"I know what you're trying to do."

"You do?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"And you're sweet for trying. But it's not just, for me, that it's a second time. It's, well, I had my second time. I barely know what this is now. José isn't a part of my first time around. He is not them."

"Right," Andy asked, "But I think that's all he's guilty of, right?"

=/\=

Lili made dinner, thinking about what Andy had said. Brian flitted in and out, mostly out, with Izquilla in tow. The captain was having dinner with Esilia and Dakiza in the Captain's Mess and Craig, nervous, nearly spilled a pitcher of iced tea in Captain Archer's lap.

"Life goes on," Lili murmured to herself, "whether I go along for the ride or not."

Finally, the cleanup was finished.

"Got any plans for tonight?" asked Craig.

"Yeah," Lili replied.

"Well, have fun." 

=/\=

Lili went to her quarters and changed out of her chef's whites. _Nothing too provocative_, she thought to herself.

There were various tee shirts with assorted necklines in her closet and bureau. There were a few turtlenecks as well. Way in the back of the closet, there was a yellow boatneck top she'd forgotten she owned. She selected one of her more modest tees.

There was the sapphire dress. There was a denim skirt and a few more business-like skirts. She rejected all of those in favor of a pair of somewhat loose-fitting jeans. She added a plain turquoise hoodie and was ready. No makeup was applied.

Picking up her PADD, she departed. Her destination was the Observation Lounge. 

=/\=

The Ikaarans had been staying there, but they were mainly gone. Esilia and the captain were living together, as were Brian and Izquilla. Most of the other women were, tentatively, trying relationships on for size. Lili figured that most if not all of them were at Movie Night.

She sat in a comfortable chair facing the viewing portal. She clicked on her PADD to open a book – _The Trial_ by Franz Kafka. Quietly, she began reading, and about jumped out of her skin when a shadow passed over the PADD's surface.

"Oh!" she cried out.

"I'm sorry. Did I startle you?" It was José.

"It's okay," she replied.

"Is this seat taken?" he indicated the chair next to hers. They were alone in the large Observation Lounge.

"Of course not."

He sat down, a little fidgety. "Whatcha readin'?"

She showed him. "It's weird, and very paranoid. It's like, I dunno, kinda like death by bureaucracy."

"Sounds scary. Sure you wouldn't rather go and see _The Godfather_ instead?" he joked.

"At least this doesn't have pictures."

"Got it." He jiggled his leg a bit, edgy.

"Do you have your PADD with you?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I could transfer over the file, in case you want to read the book, too," Lili offered.

"Uh, maybe another time." He fiddled with a loose thread on his uniform.

"_José!"_

"What?"

"Stop that. _Please_. You're making me nervous."

"Oh, sorry. I, uh, I thought we could talk."

"About what?" she asked, setting her PADD down.

"I dunno, uh, stuff."

"_Stuff_?"

"Yeah," José mumbled, "I, um, I don't run around. I don't drink. I will never hit you. I will, I will always listen to whatever you have to say. If, uh, if you have anything that's broken, I will, uh, I will always fix it."

Lili just looked at him. "I don't know what to do."

"I know there are, there are guys who are more romantic than me. I don't know how to do that. I just, I don't. I wish I did. And God knows they're all better-looking than I am."

"José–"

"It's funny, my old logs, they show I went after lots of women. Hoshi, even. And then you were taken but we met Ikaarans then, too, and the youngest one and me, this girl named Corda, we were together. But they die so young."

"The Ikaarans don't seem to have a monopoly on dying young."

"I, uh, yeah, that's true." He looked her in the eye and bit his lower lip. "I'm no replacement for, for either of them. And if you, if you wanted another fellow, I, uh, I guess I'd understand."

She looked at him and her brain screamed, _it's too soon_. Terrified, she grabbed her PADD and lit out of there, nearly hyperventilating once she got back to her quarters.

=/\=

"_I am here," Ian announced._

"_Oh, good. I need you."_

"_That's lovely to hear, but why, Lili?"_

"_José Torres asked me out. He practically proposed to me and everything. I got the distinct impression that he wanted to skip about fifty steps and just cut straight to the chase."_

"_I see."  
><em>

"_All I can do is freak out," Lili had an edge to her voice, "I can talk to you just fine, even though you're, um, …"_

"_Deceased. Gone to meet my maker and all that."_

"_Yeah," she agreed, "I, uh, I didn't know if that would be an offensive term or anything."_

"_Hardly. It's a fact, is it not? But back to you. What troubled you so much about José?"_

"_It felt prickly and strange, like I wasn't supposed to be there and he wasn't and it was all just, I guess the term is against the grain."_

"_He told you he's not romantic."_

"_You were listening?"_

"_We hear and see everything. We are constantly looking out for you, even though your waking self has no idea that we are there."_

"_Ah. It just, Ian, it all scares me."_

"_What, precisely, frightens you?"_

"_Moving on."_

"_It feels final, yes?"_

"_Yes," Lili agreed, "it feels like if I moved on, I'd never see you again; lose the sounds of your voices and the feel of you holding me and all of that. It feels like the door would be shut and locked, just like, like Malcolm and Jay's quarters."_

"_But you can go back into those any time you wish," he whispered to her, "what makes you think that the key will be dropped in the dark and swept 'way by a flood, never to be retrieved again?"_

"_Are you sure?" she whispered back, groping for him in the dark._

_He held her hand and kissed it. "This bond transcends death. It'll transcend José Torres or Derek Kelby or anyone else you find you fancy."_

"_I just, I've gotta be sure. Don't ever leave me."_

"_Never."_

=/\=

_José Torres's Personal Log, May fourth, 2038_

_I bet I botched it._

=/\=

_Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, May fourth, 2038_

_We've got procul. Now to train the dogs to herd it and not chase it. Karin informs me that Shep seems to show the most promise. Shep the shepherd – I guess that works._

_But that's not my really big news. I gave Daisy to Esilia. We'll marry soon. Er, me and Esilia. No word if anyone will marry Daisy._

=/\=

_Craig Willets's Personal Log, May fourth, 2038_

_I walked Dakiza back to the Observation Lounge after the movie, and we kissed. Awesome._


End file.
